Press Release | February 19, 2019
Race Recap of Round Two in AZOP Championship Series
Second round of AZOP’s 2019 Rowley White RV Championship series brings competitors to Shorty’s Sports Park in Blythe
This is a race report provided by AZOP | Story and Photos by Miller Truby
The second round of the Arizona Offroad Promotions Rowley White RV Series, presented by Winiecki Motorsports and ABC Body Shop, saw racers take on the impeccably groomed and thoroughly challenging track at Shorty’s Sports Park in Blythe, California last weekend. Racers and spectators were greeted with ideal weather in the form of cool temperatures and high clouds as the sun rose over the track on Saturday morning.
Despite the excitement over the course, the mood in the pits before racing began was somewhat somber as news spread that AZOP co-owner Richie Rees and AZOP referee Dan Rees would not be in attendance following the unexpected passing of Johnna Rees (Richie’s mother and Dan’s wife) the week prior. The entire AZOP family—racers, spectators, staff, volunteers—came together to make sure that donations were collected, and a large poster was brought out at the scorer’s table where it was signed by a wide variety of competitors and staff to show support for the Rees family.
Saturday Races
The Pee Wee class started things off for the bikes on the abridged 30-minute version of the course. The 65cc C class was very competitive, with Cooper Skersick riding the number-247 bike to his second win of the season with 19 laps completed, good enough for second overall among the Pee Wee bikes. Deegan Enriguez was close for most of the race and brought his number-73 Kawasaki home in second with 18 laps done. Trent Wallace finished 14 laps on the number-023 bike and secured the third spot on the podium.
The 50cc 7-8 Year-Old class was a one-sided affair, as Kaycee Curley rode the number-238 KTM hard and finished a full 11 laps ahead of number-918 Logan Ford (eight laps) and number-154 Lane Oden (also eight laps). Curley wound up completing 19 laps and actually won the overall for the Pee Wee bikes, despite the displacement disadvantage.
The Curley family also celebrated a win in the 50cc 4-6 Year- Old class, as Courtney Curley brought the number-25 bike across the line with 11 laps completed. Colton Rademacher took second on the number-94 machine with nine laps, and Maverick Willis took third on the number-018 with nine laps.
Saturday Big Bikes
Once the kiddos had cleared the course, AZOP officials switched everything over to the full-length track and spectators crowded to the fences to watch the first adult race of the day as the Big Bikes took to the start line. Shorty’s Sports Park pulled out all the stops to present riders and fans with a highly varied track that would demand mastery of many different skills.
Beginning in the motocross section, riders would have to navigate several kickers, a big tabletop, a few long doubles, as well as all the high-bermed corners in between. From there, the track transitioned into a series of sandy sections with several steep drops and difficult climbs through the canyons. If they survived the sand, riders were treated to a very flat portion of the course with multiple switchbacks and a long straightaway, which led to a more traditional desert area, complete with whooped-out corners, baseball-sized rocks, and plenty of dust. All said and done, the full course totaled about four miles.
With 72 entries across 15 different classes, there was action at every part of the track throughout the race. In the Pro class, Alex Morgan put on a dominant performance on the number-531 Honda, completing 11 laps in the allotted 50 minutes and lapping the field in the process. Austin Szenina finished second, with nine laps completed on the number-224 entry.
The Open A class gave fans the bar-to-bar racing they came out to see, as Austin Alexander rode the number-95 Yamaha hard for 10 laps to eke out a 5-second win over Drake Hacker’s number-214 Kawasaki. William Dipley brought his number-162 machine to a third-place finish in nine laps. Alexander’s time was good enough to give him second-place overall for the big bikes.
Joe Joe Kalous outmatched the other 12 entries in the Open B class and got a class win and a third-place overall finish on his number-826 Honda with 10 laps completed. Drew Farris finished second on the number-35 Suzuki, and Blythe local Derek Brisco ended up third on the number-67 Kawasaki.
Open C was the biggest bike class of the day with 17 entries and they did not disappoint. The top 10 finishers all completed eight laps and after 50 minutes of racing only 4 minutes separated first place from eighth. The top spot on the podium went to Alejandro Cortez Jr on the number-372 machine, while second went to Gage McKinney on the number-126 Yamaha. Jake Moffat brought his number-343 Kawasaki home in third.
Tim Dana’s number-97 was the lone entry for the 125-250cc A class, giving him an easy win with nine laps done.
125-250cc B went to Collier Martinez on the number-33 bike with nine laps finished. Colton Edwards brought the number-29 Kawasaki across in second with eight laps and Dustin Queen rounded out the podium on the number-974 with eight laps as well.
The 125-250cc C class saw 13 entries and great racing, as all of the top five finishers completed eight laps. Austin Wallace eventually came out on top on the number-026 entry, with Cole Haley on the number-42 edging out Jaeqon Peterson on the number-727 by 4 seconds for second place.
Master 50+ A went to the lone entry of Ed Heacox on the number-028 Yamaha, who completed nine laps.
Master 50+ B gave race fans another close ending with number-027 Mike Carroll finishing his eighth lap 5 seconds ahead of the number-029 bike of Cass Morgan. Richard Heyer finished third on the number-311 Yamaha with eight laps completed as well.
Senior 40+ A was won by Cary Wallace on the number-032 machine in nine laps.
Senior 40+ B went to Tom Estelle on the number-591 Kawasaki with two laps completed.
Richard Green was the only Super Senior 60+ rider to enter on Saturday, and he took the checkered flag on the number-75 bike with eight laps completed.
Vet 30+ B went to Kyle Kinsman on the number-236 Suzuki with nine laps finished. Evan Harrison took second on the number-61 Suzuki with eight laps done and Brian De Los Abos finished third on the number-018 Husqvarna in eight laps.
Vet 30+ C was won by sole entry Robbie Willis on the number-017 KTM in six laps.
Saturday Mini Bikes
As the big-bike competitors made their way to the pits, the mini bikes lined up in the start chute and got ready to take on the full course. Marley Kuhn got a relatively easy win on the number-21 as the sole entry in the 65cc A class, finishing with six laps completed.
The 65cc B class saw some of the best racing of the day with the top three riders taking the checkers on lap five within a minute of each other. Tristan Andrade got the win on the number-two bike, while Edwardo Panic brought the number-13 Honda across the line a mere 7 seconds later. Owen Wesley took third on the number-928 KTM.
The 80-150cc class was hotly contested as well, with the number-1429 KTM of Jonathan Kirat taking the class win and the overall mini bike win with seven laps done. Porter May took second in class and second overall on the number-177 Honda with seven laps as well, and Travis Boyd brought his number-22 Honda across the line in third with six laps finished, which was good enough for third overall.
The 80-150cc B class was won by Chase Boyd on the number-4 bike in six laps, with second place going to Spencer Cyr on the number-014 machine with five laps completed.
The 80-150cc C class was won by Danny Baca on the number-48 KTM in six laps. Clayton Hixon took second on the number-130 less than a minute later, while Colson Skersick on the number-413 took third less than a minute after that.
The Women’s C class was won by Ellie Koester’s number-93 Kawasaki in five laps. Local rider Emilee Carter of Ehrenberg brought her number-371 machine home in second with five laps completed as well. Third went to Grace Vinagro on the number-191 machine, also in five laps.
Sunday Races
Day two of the AZOP Rowley White RV Series at Shorty’s Sports Park in Blythe, California presented by Winiecki Motorsports and ABC Body Shop kicked off with a bright and clear sunrise leading to a beautiful, crisp morning.
Sunday Pee Wee
The Pee Wee bikes were up first on the abridged course, which still featured a portion of the motocross course as well as one sandy canyon climb. Just as she had done the previous day, Kaycee Curley came out and destroyed the field, running three more laps than any other rider on her number-238 KTM and handily winning the 50cc 7-8 Year-Old class as well as the overall. Rounding out the class were Logan Ford on the number-918 KTM with nine laps and number-154 Lane Oden with seven laps finished.
In the season standings, Oden maintains a 7-point advantage with 67, followed by Curley at 60 and Ford at 50.
In the 65cc C class, number-73 Deegan Enriguez took the win and second place overall with 17 laps. Luke Johnson was second in class and third overall on the number-80 Kawasaki with 14 laps completed and Alexander Rodriguez finished on the third podium spot with 13 laps done on the number-010 bike.
Cooper Skersick owns the lead in the 65cc class with 60 points but it’s a close race with Chase James having 59 and Enriguez in third with 55.
As was the case on Saturday, the Curley family got another top podium spot in the 50cc 4-6 Year-Old class as Courtney Curley did 12 laps on her number-25 Honda. Colton Rademacher repeated his second-place finish from Saturday on the number-94 Honda with 11 laps done, and Hayden Griffity took third with eight laps completed on the number-723 bike.
Curley has a commanding lead in the season standings at 81, while Rademacher sits in second with 50, and Griffith in third with 39.
Sunday Big Bikes
The Big Bikes took the starting line next as AZOP officials once again switched the track back to the full-length course. Sunday did not see any Pro entries, so the Open A riders stepped up to put on a show at the front of the field, with four riders eventually finishing within about 2 minutes of each other. Taking the Open A class win and the overall a day after winning Open B was Joe Joe Kalous on the number-826 Honda with 10 laps finished. Drake Hacker repeated his performance from Saturday and slotted into the second spot on the number-214 Kawasaki with 10 laps. Number-95 Austin Alexander finished 10 laps and rounded out the Open A podium after climbing back to the third spot following a bad start that put him in eighth out of turn one. Hacker and Alexander also finished 2-3 in the overall standings, respectively.
Season standings for Open A have Alexander in first place with 67 points over Brian Perry with 53 and David Richards with 52.
Open B was hotly contested as well, with Derek Brisco representing his hometown well and taking first place in the class on the number-67 Kawasaki with 10 laps completed. Brandon Ybarra Hacker brought his number-313 Husqvarna home in second after 10 laps, just 13 seconds behind Brisco. Tate Van Voorst finished third on the number-415 Kawasaki, having finished nine laps.
Brisco now leads the season standings with 51 points while Van Voorst sits second with 48 and Jarren Atwater sits third with 44.
Number-33 Collier Martinez put in a blistering ride for the second day in a row and finished nine laps to take first in the 125-250cc B class as well as seventh overall, beating out most of the larger displacement machines. Dustin Queen finished second in class with nine laps done on the number-974 Yamaha and Colton Edwards took third place 17 seconds later on the number-29 Kawasaki, also finishing nine laps.
Martinez now sits in first place for the 125-250cc B class with 60 points earned, while Edwards has 51, and Queen has 46.
Alejandro Cortez Jr repeated as the winner of the Open C class after running nine laps on the number-372 machine. Chazz Gonzalez of Blythe finished second with nine laps completed on the number-322 Kawasaki and Joe Walkup came in third after eight laps on the number-58 Yamaha.
Cortez Jr leads the Open C points with 60, over Jacob Moraga with 52, and Jacob Robinson with 50.
Anthony Luna dominated the 125-250cc C class with nine laps finished on his number-700 Suzuki. Jaeqon Peterson did eight laps and finished second on the number-727 bike while Tyler Snodgrass brought his number-54 KTM around the course eight times.
Peterson leads the 125-250cc C points with 64, followed by Cole Haley with 54 and Luna with 45.
Master 50+ B was won by Mike Carroll on the number-027 bike after he completed nine laps. Cass Morgan took second on the number-029, also with nine laps. Richard Heyer was third in class for the second day in a row on the number-311 Yamaha with eight laps finished.
Heyer leads the Master 50+ B points with 42 while Ron Simpson sits second with 30 and Dan Diemer is third with 25.
Tim Dana won the 125-250cc A class on the number-97 machine and now holds the lead in the season points with 60 over Kaden Vermilyea, who has 30.
Number-028 Ed Heacox won Master 50+ A in nine laps.
Number-039 Kyle Kuse won Vet 30+ A after completing nine laps on his Honda while Jordan Luke won Vet 30+ B on the number-040 GasGas, also with nine laps completed.
Sunday Mini Bikes
With the big bikes done for the weekend out came the mini bikes to finish up the two-wheeled competitions. In the 80-150cc A class, Travis Boyd put in another fast ride on his number-22 Honda and this time around was rewarded with a first-place overall finish after completing seven laps. Porter May also did seven laps on the number-177 Honda to take second in class and overall.
Boyd leads the 80-150cc A season series after Blythe with 81 points, while May sits in second with 75. Jonathan Kirat rounds out the top three with 30 points.
Jaxon Steele put in a great ride, finishing six laps in the 80-150cc C class to win it while taking third overall on the number-199 machine. Danny Baca on the number-48 KTM finished his sixth lap only 10 seconds later to take second place, while Colson Skersick brought the number-413 KTM across the line for the sixth time just 7 seconds after that to take third.
The season championship is shaping up to be close all the way this year as Baca leads with 80 points just ahead of Steele with 78. Clayton Hixon is in third with 61.
Marley Kuhn once again rode uncontested in the 65cc A class and took home another first place after six laps on the number-21 KTM. Kuhn now has 90 points on the season in the 65cc A class.
After a win on Saturday, Cooper Skersick moved up from the Pee Wee division on Sunday to ride the 65cc B class with the mini bikes. The longer course didn’t seem to faze him, as he earned the class win with six laps completed on the number-247 machine. Owen Wesley finished second on the number-928 KTM with five laps done and Tristin Andrade rounded out the class podium on the number-2 bike with four laps finished.
Wesley sits in first place for the 65cc B class with 76 points while Andrade is in second with 51. Edwardo Panuco is third with 41 points.
In the 80-150cc B class Spencer Cyr of Blythe took the win on his number-014 KTM, having completed five laps. Chase Boyd brought home second place on the number-4 Honda, also with five laps finished.
In the Women’s C class Ellie Koester won the day, finishing five laps on her number-93 Kawasaki. Emilee Carter came in second after finishing five laps on her number-371 machine. Grace Vinagro rounded out the podium spots with four laps completed on the number-191 bike.
Carter leads the championship chase with 75 points while Koester has 60 and Vinagro has 42.