| September 11, 2017
2017 WORCS Glen Helen 2 Results – After a lengthy break in the season, the 2017 Rocky Mountain ATV MC WORCS Championship got back to business at Glen Helen Raceway (for the second time in a row), September 9-10, and FMF/KTM’s Taylor Robert got back to his winning ways. He battled with Zach Bell early in the race before breaking free and pulling away for his third straight win and fifth of the season. Unfortunately for Robert, earlier in the year, he missed four rounds with an injury. He’s won every race since he’s been back.
2017 WORCS Glen Helen 2 Results
“I was second on the start; Zach got the holeshot and he was really moving out there,” said Robert. “He had some really good lines. He passed me, I passed him back and I’m not sure if he fell in one of the pro sections or what, but I never saw him again.”
Bell eventually finished fourth.
Second in the race went to points leader Gary Sutherlin on the DA8/Purvines Yamaha, but he had some anxious moments. While running all alone in second place, his rear wheel failed and had to nurse the bike back into the pits for a wheel swap. He lost considerable time and some positions but managed to regain what he lost and took second at the flag, padding his points lead over Justin Seeds.
“I made my way to second, and I knew Taylor was going to be the guy to beat,” said Sutherlin. “I had a solid second going when my rear wheel came apart. I came in, changed the rear wheel and went back out seventh. Once I got out, I told myself I wasn’t going to have a bad day. I put it all out there and caught all the way up to second.”
Eric Yorba was holding down second late in the race before getting slowed by a bottleneck and then suffering a flat (the mousse inner-tube in his wheel broke down).
“I got up into second and had a little bit of a gap on Gary, but I got stuck behind some lappers that fell in the creek in the canyon section and I had nowhere to go,” said Yorba. “I came to a complete stop and lost all of the time I had on Gary. My rear tire mousse ended up giving out, and I made the decision to let Gary by and salvage a third. I was glad to redeem myself from the horrible performance I had here at the last round.”
Trevor Stewart rounded out the top five.
2017 WORCS Glen Helen 2 Results
Dante Oliveira clinched the Pro 2 Championship after taking his fifth win of the season. Mitch Anderson and Alex Dorsey joined the KTM rider on the podium.
“I felt really good and the bike was working awesome,” said Oliveira. “I faded a little at the end of the race, but kept moving to stay on top. The track was super cool. It was nice to change it up a little bit.”
For Anderson, it was the finish of the season for him. He took the checkers 20 seconds behind Oliveira.
In Pro 2 Lights, Clayton Hengeveld proved he has fully recovered from a broken arm sustained in a crash during practice in June with his third victory of the season. He came out of a three-way battle with Austin Serpa and motocross racer Conner Mullennix for the victory.
“I knew what I had to do to get into the points lead, and I came home with the win,” said Hengeveld. “I’m very happy with that, especially coming back from my injury. It took me nine weeks to recover. I got back on the bike last month. Ever since, I’ve hit it hard. It’s good to be back. The first 45 minutes I had a good battle with Serpa and Mullinnex.”
Serpa scored his sixth podium of the season. He remains the points leader on his KTM. “I feel pretty good, but not as good as I would if I had have won,” said Serpa. “The heat wasn’t bad. I just rode as well as I could.”
Mullennix came into the race on a bet with friend and fellow motocross racer, Nathan Ramsey. After winning the 250 A race on Friday, he proved he could compete in a longer race, finishing third.
“He said he could beat me at a WORCS race so I talked with my race manager about getting me a fuel tank and the next thing you know my tank came in,” said Mullennix. “Nathan somehow got out of it, but I had to do it. I came in with a good head and just had fun.”
BY HARLEN FOLEY
2017 WORCS Glen Helen 2 Results