World Off-Road Championship Series
Round 1 : Speedworld
(Left) Mike Kiedrowski began his defense of the WORCS title on the right foot after
winning the series opener In Phoenix, Arizona.
(Above) Destry Abbott made it a race but had to settie for second place.
(Below) Robert Naughton (1 Glleads Kiedrowski before slipping back to fourth.
the holeshot, with Yoshimura Suzuki's
Rodney Smith and privateer Suzuki
rider Robert Naughton chasing close
behind. Davis was setting a fast pace
out in front, while Smith and
Naughton did everything they could
to stay with the Yamaha pilot.
By MICHAEL DEMAREE
PHOTOS BY TYLER MADDOX
PHOENIX, AZ, FEB. 16-17
efending WORCS Champion
L.:Y Mike Kiedrowski wasted no time
letting it be known that he is, indeed,
the rider to beat in this year's World
Off-Road Championship Series. At the
opening round of the '02 series,
Kiedrowski, on the Yoshimura DRZ450 Suzuki four-stroke, came
through the pack to score the second
WORCS race win of his career.
Kiedrowski passed fellow Suzuki rider
Robert Naughton to take the lead, and
then thwarted a late-race challenge by
Hare & Hound Champion Destry
Abbott to take the early lead in the
series. Finishing third in the race was
Yamaha-mounted Ty Davis, followed
by Naughton and Nick Pearson.
The start of Sunday's Pro race saw
Montclair Yamaha's Davis grabbing
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27,2002'
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Smith's teammate Kiedrowski
started around sixth, where he would
begin his gradual climb to the front of
the pack.
"I got off the line around fifth or
sixth and for the first lap, I just tried
to stay close to the front," Kiedrowski
