| March 28, 2016
For all of the right reasons, Beta’s Justin Wallis won’t soon forget Spring Break 2016. That’s because he captured his first ever WORCS Pro-class victory at the Spring Break capital of the west coast, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Wallis survived—and won—what has always been one of the toughest races on the WORCS schedule but perhaps more importantly, the win, combined with his previous 9-4-9 finishes, moves him up to third place in the 2016 WORCS standings. He’s now only one point behind previous-round winner Blayne Thompson (who finished sixth at Havasu) for second and trails leader Robby Bell (fourth at Havasu) by 19 points.
Gary Sutherlin (2) got off to a fast start and led the first lap. Photography by Harlen Foley
Justin Jones and Travis Coy joined Wallis on the Havasu podium. Honda-mounted Jones fought nabbed second place late in the race, while Coy, on the RPM/KTM, ended up third.
Fourth went to defending champ Bell who came into the race recovering from the flu and was far from 100 percent. Rounding out the top five overall was former WORCS champ Gary Sutherlin who was making his first WORCS appearance of the year after an injury.
After a brutal and windy Saturday with wind gusts up to 40 mph, the winds luckily calmed down for Sunday’s pro race, which got underway in the middle of the afternoon for the final, two-hour, race of the weekend. With temperatures in the mid-80, it wasn’t the hottest Havasu race that the racers had ever seen, but it was still hot enough to test everyone’s endurance, as did the always-brutal racecourse that wound its way in and about the Crazy Horse Campground. Unfortunately, it appears that this might be the last race at Crazy Horse site, because, according to WORCS, the state says it doesn’t plan to renew WORCS contract to host any kind of racing at the facility.
Justin Jones (42) stalks Eric Yorba.
Sutherlin shot into the early lead which he enjoyed for a lap before Bell pounced and took over. From there, Bell steadily pulled away from the pack, and it looked to be another Bell win. At one point, Bell enjoyed over a minute lead over Wallis, who had taken over second place from Dalton Shirey on the eighth of what would end up being a 20-lap race.
However, Bell just couldn’t keep up to the finish the blistering pace he had set. The effects of the flu began setting in, and it didn’t help much when he suffered a small crash, and the gap between him and Wallis slowly began to shrink.
By the 14th lap, Wallis and caught Bell and took over the lead a lap later. Bell held on to second for a couple of more laps before giving way to Coy and then Jones.
Wallis held a comfortable one-minute-plus lead late in the race and, barring any major problems, had this one in the bag, but the race for second place was heating up.
Defending WORCS champ Robby Bell led most of the race before physically running out of the gas, most of which had to do with having just gotten over the flu.
Coy held second but Jones was on the move and closing in fast, and he was soon right behind Coy heading into the final lap.
Jones moved in for the kill and passed Coy on the final go around and held on for second place, taking the checkered flag nine seconds ahead of Coy.
A dehydrated Bell held on for fourth, finishing more than three minutes behind the winner Wallis.
Of the 19 pro starters, 15 finished the race and seven of them finished on the lead lap.
But the rider with the biggest smile on his face at the end of the day was Wallis.
“I practice in the sand a lot, so I just tried to stay consistent and put down some good lap times,” the Beta rider said. “I tried to stick to my lines and charge. Toward the end, I was so drained; I pushed to get there. I’ve been working my butt off to get here. My Beta was running great today. This is huge. I remember coming to this race four years ago as a spectator. Just to be here is a dream come true. It’s surreal right now.”
Beta rider Justin Wallis was the strongest at the end, taking his first ever WORCS win.
Wallis said that once he got into the lead, he had to buckle down and not get too excited.
“I just tried to stay calm, breath and not make any mistakes,” said Wallis. “I just stayed smooth and tried not to do anything stupid.”
Jones was actually lucky to finish the race after taking a rock off his chin early in the race.
“It was a pretty tough race,” said Jones. “I caught a rock to the chin about three laps in. I was mentally beat. I normally hate this place, but I’m glad to finish on the podium.”
Coy was happy to get on the podium but was disappointed giving up second on the last lap.
Jones made a last-lap pass to get second.
“Finally the hard work is paying off,” said Coy. “I’ve been working my butt off. Jones got me on last lap, which is kind of a bummer, but I have no regrets. I was struggling those last three laps as I’m sure everyone else was. It was brutal, but I love this place and I always have.”
Despite slipping back to fourth, Bell was happy with his ride.
“I had a good pace going and I didn’t think I was pushing myself too hard,” Bell said. “Then, just past the hour point, I had a little fall and in trying to save it, my right calf cramped up like crazy. I actually had to get into a calf stretch to try to get it to loosen up. My body just wasn’t ready for this test. I’m a couple of weeks after overcoming the flu and I don’t think my body is 100 percent. We’ll just regroup and move into the next one.”
Sutherlin was just happy to be back at a WORCS race. He explained that he didn’t want to take too many chances in his first race back.
Travis Coy put on a strong race but couldn’t hold off Jones. He still got on the podium.
“It’s been a long road back,” said Sutherlin. “Luckily I remember how to start. I led for one lap and then I toned it back. I’ve only been on the bike a couple of weeks, and I knew that I wasn’t going to last all two hours. I have room to improve. At least I know now where I stand and what we need to do for Sand Hollow [the next WORCS race].”
In the Pro 2 class, motocrossers Carlen Gardner and Josh Mosiman made their WORCS debut and went 1-2. Cody Schafer was third.
Carlen Gardner (830) topped the Pro2 race.
Points leader Logan Chambers led most of the race before crashing in the closing stages. Gardner took the lead from there and went on to win.
“We’re hitting a few WORCS this year to do some training,” said Gardner. “We came out and had some fun. Logan was really holding it down for most of the race. Unfortunately, he went down. I just tried to stay consistent.”
Mosiman used the race to help him prepare for the AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series, which gets underway in May. “Eric Yorba brought us out for some training,” said Mosiman. “He said it would be gnarly and he wasn’t kidding. The track was brutal and now it’s time to get ready for Hangtown. This is good training. It felt really good to be on the podium. We didn’t know what to expect today. We just rode smart and smooth. We’ll definitely be back.”
Dante Oliveria was flying in the Pro2 Lites division.
In Pro 2 Lites, RPM/KTM’s Dante Oliveria won his fourth consecutive race. Austin Serpa and Clayton Hengeveld rounded out the podium.
Oliveria nabbed the holeshot and was never seriously challenged, but his race was nearly over before it started.
“Maxxis saved the day,” said Oliveria. “I noticed I had a tire Mousse [inner tube] issue while going to the starting line and they took my tire off and changed it.”
Serpa challenged Oliveria but faded late in the tough test. “I thought I had the holeshot, but Dante jumped in front of me,” said Serpa. “He put some time on me. I was slowly getting some of that time back, but, at the end, I was really looking for the checkers. It was a tough race.”
Brandy Richards topped Saturday’s Women’s Pro first moto.
After a double-header weekend of racing at the Crazy Horse Campground for the WORCS Pro Women racers, Tatum Sik maintained her points lead after scoring two podium finishes. Brandy Richards won Saturday’s race and sits second in points. Tarah Gieger, Britney Gallegos and Lauren Woods round out the top five.
Sik shook off a shoulder injury after falling in practice to finish third in Saturday’s race and second Sunday. She currently holds a 14-point lead over Richards in the Championship.
“I went down hard,” said Sik. “I’m just glad to be on the podium. I wasn’t even sure I could ride, so to be able to ride that well, I’m stoked. It’s been a rough season. I had a great round at Taft and I’ve been struggling ever since. I had a huge crash at Primm, one at South Point and now one at Havasu. It’s been pretty tough, but I’ve managed to be on the podium every round.”
Interestingly, she’s racing an eight-year old Suzuki RM-Z250 given to her by Travis Pastrana. “After my get off at Primm, we had to completely rebuild the bike,” said Sik. “I went to test it at Glen Helen the day before the next race, and the crank broke. I had an old bike that Pastrana gave me seven years ago, so that’s what I raced.”
Brandy Richards, who is from Lake Havasu, is a 15-year veteran and in her third year as a WORCS Pro. Given that she’s only 19 that means she’s been racing since she was four! Richards won Saturday’s race, marking her third consecutive victory, but she had a hard crash in Sunday’s event, which ended her win streak while leading. She ended up fourth and is second in points despite missing the first round with a knee injury.
“I love the tracks and the atmosphere here in WORCS, and winning in your hometown is the best feeling,” said Richards. “In the second race, I was trying to pass a lapper, caught a soft spot on a berm and went over the bars hard. I’m really sore. I’m pretty disappointed, but I hope that I can come back better.”
Tara Geiger won the Women’s Pro race on Sunday. It was her first win in WORCS.
Geiger won her first ever WORCS Pro Women’s race Sunday. She battled with Sik in both races, bringing back memories of racing her in motocross. She is in her first full season of WORCS competition.
“Tatum and I had some fun battles,” said Geiger of her victory. “I got past her early, and then let off a little too much and she passed me. She stalled at the finish line about halfway through and I took the lead for good there. It was a fun race. The track was getting really rough and the lappers were tough for the last 15 minutes, so it was about being smart and not make a silly mistake. She passed me in the lake section. It was kind of refreshing, actually.”
Brittany Gallegos put together a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s race, but a hard get off resulted in a DNF on Sunday.
“It happens to the best of us. We’ll take it for what it is and move on,” said Gallegos of her crash. “I went to hit one of the tables, hit a square edge and went right over the bars. I kept running, but the bike caught up to me and took me out. My leg is hurt pretty bad and my knee is pretty torn up, but we’ll have to see.”
RESULTS
PRO
- Justin Wallis (Bet)
- Justin Jones (Hon)
- Travis Coy (KTM)
- Robby Bell (Kaw)
- Gary Sutherlin (KTM)
- Blayne Thompson (Yam)
- Justin Seeds (Kaw)
- Colton Udall
- Mark Samuels
- Dalton Shirey (Hus)
PRO2
- Carlen Gardener (KTM)
- Josh Mosiman (Hus)
- Cody Schafer (Kaw)
- Logan Chambers (KTM)
- Travis Damon (Hon)
PRO2 LITES
- Dante Oliveira (KTM)
- Austin Serpa (KTM)
- Clayton Hengeveld (Kaw)
- Mason Ottersberg (Hus)
- Preston Campbell (Hon)
WOMEN PRO
- Tarah Gieger (Hon)
- Tatum Sik (Hon)
- Mica Diaz (Suz)
- Brandy Richards (KTM)
http://www.tracksideresults.com/worcs/results/current/results_main.asp
By Harlen Foley
