Cycle News Staff | October 7, 2024
After a short four-week break, the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS Championship resumed with round eight of nine in Mesquite, Nevada, October 4-6. The race showcased one of the season’s most challenging and physically demanding tracks, paired with an October heatwave, which had everyone on edge.
Beta’s Dare DeMartile clinched the WORCS Pro 450 Championship with a win in Mesquite. Photos: Connor Moore
In Pro 450, Dare DeMartile continued his hot streak, winning his third in a row, clinching the 2024 WORCS Championship. Mason Semmens returned to action after an injury and won the Pro 250 class. Jackson Glathar battled with a handful of riders but was able to pull ahead with the Pro-Am victory.
This marks Beta’s first WORCS Championship.
In the Pro 450 race, Tyler Lynn and brand-new teammate Ryan Surratt put their SLR Hondas out in front. Close behind them was the points leader, DeMartile, on a Beta. Lynn clocked the fastest lap during the second go-around with a time of eight minutes and 52 seconds and extended his early lead to just over 10 seconds on DeMartile.
On the next lap, Lynn made a small mistake and ended up tipping over, and DeMartile also had a small tipover as the top three switched places. DeMartile overtook the lead and Surratt slipped into second.
Pro Podium – Demartile, Lynn, and Surratt.
The battle between the top two riders for the next half an hour was captivating as they came across the scoring line, almost touching bars just seconds apart. At the midway point, Surratt put down a lap time of 9:30, while DeMartile only sped up, putting close to 30 seconds between him and the competitors. Once he had some breathing room, DeMartile cruised to another dominating victory in just under a minute of cushion. Lynn and Surratt rounded out the podium; Jack Simpson and Preston Kilroy rounded out the top five.
With the win, DeMartile clinched the championship in Pro 450, giving Beta USA its first WORCS Championship.
Mason Semmens returned to action and won the Pro 250 division.
After suffering an injury over the summer while back at home training for the Hattah Desert Race in Australia, dislocating and fracturing his ankle, it was Mason Semmens first race back at WORCS to try to recapture the lead in the Pro 250 points. Early on, it was all Jake Alvarez on his RPM FMF KTM-backed machine as he grabbed the holeshot and came out of the Pro section with the Aussie duo of Semmens and Sam Pretscherer behind him.
Semmens is looking to recapture points late in the season.
Alvarez held off the charging Semmens for the first two laps of the race until a minor mishap in the Pro section allowed him to pass for the lead. Once in the lead, he hit his lines and made easy work of the Pro section, putting almost identical lap times down for the remainder of the 120-minute Pro 250 race.
Pro 250 Podium – Semmens, Aeck, Alvarez
Meanwhile, the battles only heated up behind him as the race continued. The current points leader, Colton Aeck, started toward the back, sitting in fifth place after lap one. Still, he wasn’t there for long as he put down his fastest lap and the quickest of his class in lap two. Aeck moved up lap after lap, passing his fellow competitors until he and Alvarez started to tangle with each other just before the race’s halfway mark. Their battle lasted a few laps before Aeck got around him for good and began to set his eyes on Semmens.
Tristun Alvarez battled his older brother, Jake, for the win in 125 Pro.
However, Semmens came out on top and pulled the Pro 250 Championship even closer, separated now by only five points coming into the final round in Arizona at Lake Havasu City October 18-20. Alvarez landed on the podium again, with Kai Aiello and Pretscherer finishing in the top five.
125 Pro Podium – Alvarez, Damon, Alvarez.
In Pro-Am, the name of the game was the Pro section, and whoever was able to get through cleanly put themselves in an excellent position to be a contender early on. Jackson Glathar rocketed out to a holeshot but, on the second lap, had trouble making it over the final set of tires and watched as Kayden Lynn blasted over them, grabbing the early lead.
Jackson Glathar locked up the Pro-Am Championship.
Lynn and Racer Fry battled for the first five laps until he had to pull off the track with a DNF. Another rider with the speed to be on top of the box, Noah Gordon, pushed himself, but after a failed attempt at the tire section, he also had to pull off early.
Glathar was a big winner in Pro Am.
Glathar found the best way after that second lap and set his sights on Kayden catching up to him around the race’s halfway point. He made the pass stick during the seventh lap and led the rest of the way, grabbing another win and locking up the championship.
Pro Am Podium.
In Pro 125, the Alvarez brothers, Tristun and Jake, put on a show in the beginning. They were just seconds apart for the first half of the race, until Travis Damon made a pass and got between the brothers, taking second place from Jake and Tristun holding onto first. Justin Seeds also entered the class, finishing in fourth place.
Connor Moore
PRO 450 (Top 5)
- Dare DeMartile (Bet)
- Tyler Lynn (Hon)
- Ryan Surratt (KTM)
- Jack Simpson (Yam)
- Preston Kilroy (Yam)
PRO 250 (Top 5)
- Mason Semmens (KTM)
- Colton Aeck (Kaw)
- Jake Alvarez (KTM)
- Kai Aiello (Hus)
- Sam Pretscherer (Hus)
PRO-AM (Top 5)
- Jackson Glathar (KTM)
- Kayden Lynn (Yam)
- Keegan Hardy (KTM)
- Seth Christensen (GG)
- Gavin Dugan (Hon)
