KTM’s Kurt Caselli nabbed his second World Off-Road Championship Series win of his career in dramatic fashion at Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Washington, June 12. In a race that saw at least six lead changes among three different riders, Caselli finally found himself at the right place at the right time to earn his long-overdue first WORCS win.
There were numerous rider that had a chance to win this one, as a large group battled for the lead through out the two-hour race held mostly in the woods that surround the MX facility.
Defending champ Nathan Woods, on the Montclair Yamaha/Zip-Ty Racing YZ250, led early on before giving way to Kawasaki Team Green’s rookie Pro Ricky Dietrich. The two riders then battled back and forth for quite some time, while Kawasaki Team Green’s Lance Smail, Suzuki’s Mike Kiedrowski and Caselli took up positions close behind the leaders. Late in the race, while leading, Dietrich’s silencer broke and he was forced to pit, giving Woods the lead with two laps to go. But shortly after taking the lead, Woods was held up when the chain came off his bike, and he saw Caselli and Smail ride by as he struggled to fix his bike.
Caselli held on to take the win 18 seconds ahead of Smail, who won the race the last time it was held here two years ago.
Woods got going again to salvage third, while Dietrich ended up fourth on his muffler-less KX250.
Fifth place went to Team Off-Road Suzuki’s Mike Kiedrowski on the RM-Z450, one of the few four-stroke machines to finish in the top 10. Kiedrowski ran as high as second place early in the race.
Sixth place went to Team Green U.K.’s Ryan Voase, who made a special trip from England to compete in the Washougal race. Finishing seventh was another Team Green rider Destry Abbott, who was followed across the line by Honda rider Mark Tilley, and KTM rider Bobby Bonds and Semi-Pro winner, Team Green’s Justin Soule.
Despite finishing third, Woods still leads the series by 32 points over Caselli with seven rounds left.
