Press Release | April 20, 2018
93 North Grand Prix
The round-four stop of Arizona Offroad Promotions (AZOP) championship series landed in White Hills, Arizona at Western Raceway on Easter weekend, March 31-April 1, 2018.
This is a race update provided by AZOP…
By Jonathan Barrett | Photos by MotoCanon-Graham Buck
White Hills, AZ (April 1, 2018) – The round-four stop of Arizona Offroad Promotions championship series landed in White Hills, Arizona at Western Raceway. The 80-acre multi-track facility had the perfect variation of obstacles for an AZOP race.
The race was held primarily on the main track and ventured off into the outer area of the raceway for some flat single-track action. AZOP also built an endurocross section to add another challenge for the bikes.
The #223 Husqvarna of Luis Kortright did what he does best and pulled the holeshot in the Pro Bike class, with the #754 Husqvarna of Steven Gibson hot on his trail, and the x15 Yamaha of Jeremy newton rounding out third. Coming into the timing gate of lap 1 was Kortright in first with only a bikelength lead over Gibson, and Newton riding a mere 5 seconds behind.
Gibson found his way around Kortright after lap one and never looked back, extending his lead to 24 seconds by lap 3 and 55 seconds by the time the checkered flag flew. Jeremy Newton would lock down second overall with Luis Kortright keeping within 5 seconds of him the rest of the race, taking a respectable third place.
In the Open B class, Jeff Harrison took the holeshot and led one lap before Chris Bustamante would overtake him for a lap, before Greg Vader Voort would find his opportunity to take the lead and would keep it for the rest of the race. The podium for Open B would have Vander Voort on the top spot, with Jon Froust in second and Chris Bustamante taking third.
Overall top-10 finishes for the bikes ran Steven Gibson, Jeremy Newton, Luis Kortright, Wyatt Perry, Jason Trubey (Senior 40+ A), Jason Miller, (Senior 40+ A) Mario Carducci, (Vet 30+ A) Brian Perry Jr, (Open A) Duane Hewitt (Vet 30+ B) and Brian Buckelew (Open A).
The Mini Bikes came out to play and put on a show for the crowd. David Fry won his 65cc B class followed by Heath Stillwell and Marley Kuhn. Tate Van Voorst ran by himself in the 80-150cc A class, but rocketed his way to an overall win. Brady Smith won his 80-150cc B class, and William Robinson won the 80-150cc C class, with Austin Hough and Kellon Trubey finishing close behind. Top five finishes for the Minis were Tate Van Voorst, Brady Smith, William Robinson, Gunner Deatherage and David Fry. Great racing from the future of off-road!
The Peewees also came out to ride and Marley Kuhn won the 65cc C class, followed by Tavin Gamez and Danny Baca. Other notable finishes are Kailub Bain in the 50cc 4-6 Year Old class and Kaycee Curley in the 50cc 7-8 Year Old class.
Overall, the 93 North Grand Prix was an incredible racing event on the beautiful tracks that Western Raceway has to offer. The next AZOP race is round five, the Winslow Grand Prix, scheduled to run at the Thin Air Offroad Park in Winslow, Arizona on May 5-6.
Here is a video of the AZOP 93 North Grand Prix race at the Western Raceway track in White Hills, Arizona:
It was a weekend full of fun, Easter egg hunts and, of course, lots of racing. There were two full days of races for quads, dirtbikes and UTV’s. Make sure to check out azopracing.com for more upcoming races and updates.