| October 26, 2020
WORCS Pro Racer’s Taylor Robert and Austin Walton split weekend victories during the Rocky Mountain ATV-MC WORCS Series Presented by Polaris RZR and Dirt Bike at Shorty’s Sports Park in Blythe, California, October 24-25. Matteo Oliveira and Tallon Lafountaine won the Pro 2 races. Angus Riordan secured his first Pro 2 Lights victory on Saturday while Tyler Lynn won Sunday’s Pro 2 Lights race.
Blythe WORCS Results
The Blythe facility, located in the Mojave Desert just east of the Salton Sea, was new to the WORCS series. The racecourse featured an off-road section and a motocross course.
In Saturday’s Pro race, points leader Robert (FMF/KTM) took the holeshot. Oliveira, however, was charging hard, and he took the lead on the first lap. His scorching pace, however, came back to haunt Oliveira late in the event. Gassed from the hard work on the demanding circuit, his pace slowed and gave way to eventual victory to Robert. Oliveira held on for second on his KTM, followed by Trevor Stewart (Honda).
“Dante was moving and he was going for it,” said Robert. “I kept him honest and I finally put enough pressure on him that he started to make some mistakes. The race was incredibly physically demanding, and it was getting to both of us. I made a couple of attempts and I finally made it stick with four laps to go.”
Oliveira admitted he went too hard out of the gate. “I rode hard trying to break away from Taylor, but he stuck with me and he ended up capitalizing on that,” said Oliveira. “I got a little tired and was gassed from charging on the first lap.”
Stewart scored his first podium since 2017. Knowing he wasn’t in the championship picture, Steward changed his strategy for this race and just went out to enjoy himself. It worked out. After starting dead last, he methodically made his way through the field to grab the final spot on the box.
In Sunday’s Pro race, Austin Walton used frustration and grit to earn his first-ever Pro victory. Walton crashed hard on Saturday, riding his severely damaged Husqvarna to a ninth-place finish. He turned his frustration into determination. After snagging the holeshot and leading the first half of the race, he pitted along with Robert, who was running second. The pair exited the pits together and Walton pushed Robert into a haybale. He held him off from there. Robert finished second, followed by Oliveira.
Robert had trouble getting his bike to fire at the start and came out of the gate last. He charged his way through the field, passing Oliveira and then setting his sights on Walton. Though his pit stop was just slightly faster than Walton’s, they were side by side out of the pits and Walton took advantage of the outside position pinching Robert to the inside. Robert charged back but a hard crash trying to catch Walton slowed his pace.
“He pushed me into the haybale on the inside and I got high centered; no problem. Like they say rubbing is racing,” said Robert. “I stayed right with him, but I got stuck in the dust behind him and then I crashed really hard. That took the wind out of my sails, so, I decided to focus on having a safe race.”
Oliveira changed his strategy from Saturday and chose to run a more conservative pace in the early stages of the race. Though he stayed with the leaders the entire race, he didn’t have the push to make it out of third.
“I tried to play it different today,” explained Oliveira. “I tried to put down smooth and consistent laps, but I couldn’t hold the pace that Austin and Taylor were running.”
The race marked the return of 2018 Pro champion Giacomo Redondi. The Italian racer was making his first race starts since sustaining severe injuries, including two broken legs, in a crash during training at the end of the January. He finished eighth and ninth, respectively, despite only being back on the bike for a few days.
In Saturday’s Pro 2 race, Mateo Oliveira (KTM) started second behind Tallon Lafountaine (Honda) but quickly took the lead for good on the first lap. He led from there, earning his fourth consecutive victory. Lafountaine was second, ahead of Todd Sibell (Kawasaki).
Sibell earned his first WORCS Pro 2 podium in just his fourth start. The motocross veteran kicked off his WORCS season.
In Sunday’s Pro 2 race, Lafountaine scored his second victory of the season. Sibell finished second, followed by Kai Aiello (Husqvarna).
In Saturday’s Pro 2 Lights race, KTM rider Riordan captured is first Pro 2 Lights victory. After fighting back and forth with Tyler Lynn (Kawasaki), Riordan took advantage of a crash by Lynn to take the lead for good. Lynn was second, ahead of Thomas Dunn (KTM).
In Sunday’s Pro 2 Lights race, Lynn scored the victory, ahead of Riordan and Jake Alvarez (Kawasaki). The weekend’s results put Lynn and Riordan in a dead heat for first in points with Alvarez just 10 points back.
In Women Pro, Brandy Richards swept the weekend, with Kaitlyn Jacobs and Lauren Woods finishing second and third, respectively, in both races. Richards has won every race in the class this season. Richards also finished fourth in both Pro 2 Lights races.
HARLEN FOLEY
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC WORCS Series Presented by Polaris RZR and Dirt Bike
Shorty’s Sports Park
Blythe, California
RESULTS (October 24-25, 2020)
PRO
SATURDAY
1 |
Taylor Robert |
(KTM) |
2 |
Dante Oliveira |
(KTM) |
3 |
Trevor Stewart |
(Hon) |
4 |
Justin Seeds |
(Yam) |
5 |
Zach Bell |
(Kaw) |
6 |
Travis Damon |
(Hon) |
7 |
Cole Martinez |
(Hon) |
8 |
Giacomo Redondi |
(Hus) |
9 |
Austin Walton |
(Hus) |
10 |
Ryan Surratt |
(Hus) |
SUNDAY
1 |
Austin Walton |
(Hus) |
2 |
Taylor Robert |
(KTM) |
3 |
Dante Oliveira |
(KTM) |
4 |
Cole Martinez |
(Hon) |
5 |
Trevor Stewart |
(Hon) |
6 |
Travis Damon |
(Hon) |
7 |
Justin Seeds |
(Yam) |
8 |
Ryan Surratt |
(Hus) |
9 |
Giacomo Redondi |
(Hus) |
10 |
Zach Bell |
(Kaw) |