With temperatures hovering near the 100-degree range, Suzuki’s Ryan Hughes remained cool and collected to win the third round of the World Off-Road Championship Series in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, on March 18.
On what is considered one of the most physically demanding tracks on the WORCS schedule, Hughes got off to a second-place start but quickly put his RM-Z450 into the lead and would never let go of it, finishing the two-hour race more than a minute ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Kurt Caselli.
Caselli put his XC 250 two-stroke into second place for good after passing Honda rider Casey Johnson, who eventually finished outside the top five. Third overall went to Honda’s Robby Bell in what was his best-ever finish in a WORCS race. Bell came up from within the top 10 to put himself on the podium. Husqvarna’s Lance Smail finished fourth, while Kawasaki’s Destry Abbott rounded out the top five overall.
In the Pro-2 class, it was Team Green Kawasaki rider Jamie Lanza taking the win after making a last-lap pass on Zip Ty Yamaha’s Nick Brozovich, who held on for second.
Third went to FMF’s Ryan Abbatoye.
Hughes holds the series points lead over Caselli.
