Mesquite, Nevada has a way of humbling people. Round nine of the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS series at the Battle in the Sand GP was a reminder of that. Practice early in the week meant sunshine and temperatures pushing 100 degrees. By Sunday, Tropical Storm Rachel had pulled the high down to around 70 and brought a steady downpour. A deep sand track is hard enough when it’s dry. Add inches of rain, and it becomes a different race entirely, one that rewarded survival as much as speed.
Story & Photos by Connor Moore
The Pro 450 class had the most dramatic story, and it began with points leader Mason Semmens. Riding his FMF RPM KTM Racing machine, Semmens came into the weekend atop the championship and showed why. He led the first lap, and after Tyler Lynn went by, Semmens stayed in touch, running second for the next several laps and less than a minute behind the lead through lap five. Then, on lap six, a mechanical issue stopped him. Pushing a motorcycle is miserable anywhere. Pushing one through deep, rain-soaked sand is nearly impossible. His lap seven took close to an hour, and he dropped from second to sixth. He got the bike back to the start area to salvage a finish and hold onto the points lead.
The gap behind him is now much smaller, and the top three are all within striking distance of the title heading into the final round. Up front, Tyler Lynn rode a clean and composed race aboard his SLR Honda. He ran second on the opening lap, just under two seconds off the pace, then set the fastest lap of the Pro 450 class on lap two with a 9:14. From there, he led every lap, and when the weather turned the track into a mess, he stayed steady. By the end of the 12 laps, he had pulled nearly five minutes on the field. Dare DeMartile took second, and Giacomo Redondi was third. Tristun Alvarez held fourth on his Kawasaki through the closing laps. Semmens’ fifth-place finish, after a push few riders could have managed in those conditions, may be one of the season’s most important results. Hayden Florez was the only Pro 450 rider who did not finish.
The Pro 250 class also changed direction early. Cole Zeller came into the weekend wanting to put Bunker Hill’s misfortune behind him, and for the first two laps, it looked like he would. Zeller led lap one on his KTM and pulled away again on lap two, with SLR Honda’s Sam Pretscherer sitting second about 2.5 seconds back. Then Zeller made a small mistake in the Pro section on lap three. Pretscherer, who had been quietly applying pressure, took the lead and never gave it back. Once in front, Pretscherer rode like someone who had it all figured out. His second lap, a 9:22, was the class’s fastest. He stretched his lead to more than 15 seconds on lap four, a minute by lap seven, and over two minutes at the finish, even as the rain intensified and lap times climbed past 10 minutes.
The win, paired with Lynn’s in the Pro 450 class, gave SLR Honda a sweep of the Pro classes on a day when finishing at all was an accomplishment. He not only finished first in the class, but SLR Honda went 1-2 overall, with Pretscherer taking first overall. Zeller held on to second for a strong result on a difficult day, and Colton Aeck moved into third on his Honda midway through the race and never faltered. David “Racer” Fry took fourth on his Kawasaki on his home turf, and Noah Gordon of Tucson was fifth. Kayden Lynn took sixth and Harlem Nelson was seventh. Both fought through the worst of it, Lynn completing nine laps and Nelson seven. With one round left, the Pro 450 title fight is wide open. Semmens still leads, but the margin has shrunk dramatically, and a mechanical issue in Nevada could swing the championship in the final round.
In the Women’s Pro class, Lauren Woods of Mission Viejo, California, wrapped up the 2026 championship with a dominant ride on her GasGas. She led every one of the five laps, and her lap two, a 10:37, was the quickest of the day. It marks back-to-back titles for Woods. Rachel Burton of Springville, Utah, rode her Kawasaki to second, finishing four laps.
Now the series heads to the finale. Round 10 will decide the Pro 450 championship, and after what the storm did to Mesquite, nobody is counting anything out.CN
2026 WORCS Round 9 Results
PRO 450 (Top 5)
- Tyler Lynn (Hon) 1:57:47.948
- Dare DeMartile (Bet) 2:02:32.531
- Giacomo Redondi (Kaw) 1:57:55.025 (11 laps)
- Tristun Alvarez (Kaw) 1:58:54.110
- Mason Semmens (KTM) 1:58:25.233 (7 laps)
PRO 250 (Top 5)
- Sam Pretscherer (Hon) 1:56:57.518 (12 laps)
- Cole Zeller (KTM) 1:59:13.605
- Colton Aeck (Hon) 2:02:53.738
- David Fry (Kaw) 2:06:01.733
- Noah Gordon (KTM) 1:56:08.078 (10 Laps)
