A carnival-like atmosphere greeted the Pro riders at round 11 of the WORCS Series at Pismo Beach, October 21. But the big story was the championship points chase between Red Bull/KTM’s Kurt Caselli and Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Nathan Woods.
After winning round 10 in front of Woods, Caselli came into the Pismo race with a 25-point lead with only two rounds remaining. With only 30 points available for a first-place finish, Caselli led by almost a race and only had to put in a couple of good finishes to ensure the title.
When the Pro class left the line, Caselli set out to clinch the championship with the idea that winning would always keep him in front of rival Woods. Bobby Garrison got the holeshot amidst a slew of Zip-Ty Yamaha teammates, with Caselli close behind. When the mess of the first turn was sorted out and the sand cloud dissipated, Woods was left on the ground and the pack, with Caselli, was long gone. Woods got up and began a race-long charge from last place, while Caselli went after Garrison and the lead. As they completed their first lap, Caselli held the lead over Garrison and Ricky Dietrich. Woods completed the first lap in 10th, but he was more then 1.5 minutes behind Caselli’s KTM.
Caselli and Garrison swapped positions on the second lap, while Woods encountered a few problems and failed to move up. Garrison was having the best ride of his season and Caselli was about to have the worst. While battling for the lead and what certainly would’ve been the clincher on the title chase, Caselli’s KTM sputtered to halt and refused all of Caselli’s efforts at motorcycle CPR.
Despite his troubles, Woods continued to attack and eventually finished fifth, which earned him 16 valuable points on Caselli. As they go into the final round in November, Caselli still holds the points lead with 201, with Woods nine back with 192.
Garrison managed to shake off Dietrich, taking the win ahead of Dietrich and KTM rider Justin Soule. Honda’s Robby Bell finished fourth with Woods rounding out the top five.
In Pro 2 action, Jamie Lanza (pictured) put in another stellar ride to win the race and the Pro 2 Championship. Lanza’s victory was his fourth of the season, a season that so far has netted him 252 points, placing him far ahead of Jonathan Davis, who sits second in the points with 196. Davis was also second to Lanza at the Pismo round, while Brad Goolsby rounded out the top three.
“I’m really happy to win this championship,” said Lanza. “This was my goal for the season and I met my goal. I’ve had a lot of fun racing this year, but it hasn’t been easy.”
