Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1073388
OFF-ROAD 2019 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ATV-MC WORCS SERIES ROUND 1 / JANUARY 20, 2019 BUFFALO BILL'S RESORT & CASINO / PRIMM, NEVADA P68 (Precision Concepts/Kawasaki Team Green) rode to victory in a class that is stacking up to be very competitive. Tallon Lafoun- taine (SLR Honda) was second and Austin Serpa (RPM/KTM) was third. Utilizing his Kawasaki's elec- tric start, Hengeveld scored the holeshot in the race and rode well from there. Interestingly, Hengeveld was more gratified by his start than his finish. "I am so proud of winning the holeshot," said Hengeveld. "This year, Kawasaki came out with an electric start and that got me off to a great jump. I have always struggled with starts, so I'm proud of how I did this weekend." Lafountaine struggled in the rock sections and crashed on the first lap. From there, he quickly regrouped and went on to finish second. "It was brutal and a long race," said Lafountaine. "I took a pretty good digger in the rocks on the first lap. After I got up, I tried to relax and ride smooth the rest of the race. I'm happy to get a sec- ond, at least. I love the bike." Serpa turned a poor start into a podium finish. He was up to fifth at the beginning of the Pro sec- tion on lap one, and then came out of that section second. He battled with Lafountaine before pitting. From there Lafountaine began to gap him and he finished third. "There are some talented rid- ers in the class, and it's definitely going to be a stacked year," said Rally. Making his WORCS debut on a factory Husqvarna, he put together a solid race, but his en- ergy level was definitely depleted toward the end of the race. He finished seventh and will run the full WORCS season. "It's been a chaotic month and I knew I was going to have problems with energy," said Short. "Being so tired and weak, I am happy to make it out of here safe and sound. I survived and overall it was pretty fun. Hopefully I can get out of this hole energy wise and come back at the next round." In Pro 2, Clayton Hengeveld and that set him back. He recov- ered on the final lap, making up two positions to finish sixth. "This was not my weekend," said Sutherlin. "I had a lot of ex- pectations coming into this race and this is not the way to start off the season. I got pumped up pretty fast, but I was still there, but then I ran out of gas. I passed two guys at the end, but losing that much time took us out of it. We have a few weeks off, I'll try to get my hands healed up, and we'll be back at Glen Helen." Andrew Short was fresh off of an airplane from Peru where he finished fifth in the Dakar Clayton Hengeveld got off to a fast start, never looked back and won the Pro 2 class.