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/128397
Round 8 OFF-ROAD ~ Zip-Ty's main man, Ty Davis,last year's Monticello winner, was picking racers off right and left, trying to catch up to the lead pack after getting off to a midpack start. Other notable racers in the top 10 at the midway point were Nick Pearson and KTM's Bobby Bonds. Pearson was well on his way to his best WORCS finish. Bonds, however, is trying to salvage a horrible season and get back to the podium like he did in 2004. Bonds was moving up through the field and was as high as sixth before suffering another disappointment in his battered season. "I was doing good, feeling all right, and my bike started to just quit on me," he said. "I think it was overheating in that canyon. I can't believe how this year is going; at this point I'll be happy to just finish one of these things." The race for the lead was over, and the riders were starting to spread out. Caselli was riding by himself and gaining seconds every lap, which left Woods baffled. "I was riding really good, and I know I had the speed to ride with him, but he just kept pulling away," Woods said. "I didn't know what was going on. Then, on the last couple of laps, I saw a line that was developing and realized where I was losing time. In the Canyon there was a line that Caselli was taking that was missing that hardest part of the whole section. I finally started taking that line, and the last couple of laps I started to gain some time back, but unfortunately it was too little, too late. Caselli is a great rider. I just wish I would have seen that line sooner. I could have given him a run for his money!" Kiedrowski was falling behind and running a lonely third. "I went in and stopped for gas and my bike died," Kiedrowski said. "I think that my filter was getting clogged, and I had a hard time getting it going again. I pulled the filter skin and from then on my bike worked awesome, the best it had worked all day. Unfortunately, Caselli and Woods were gone." Caselli crossed the finish line a minute and a half ahead of Woods. Kiedrowski came across in third, and Russ Pearson finished in the position he started in, fourth. "I tried my hardest to catch those guys up front," Pearson said. ''All race long, I would start to reel in Kiedrowski and then something would happen and I'd lose time again. It was a fun race, but I need to get on top of that podium." Rocky Mountain ATV/MC World Off-Road Championship Series rief'Y··· Davis followed Pearson home in fifth, and Rhoten finished an impressive sixth. Nick Pearson recorded his best WORCS finish in seventh. Smail had an off day and finished eighth, with Dietrich and Honda's Kendall Norman rounding out the top 10. CN BULL Houow MX MONTICEUO, UTAH SEPTEMBER 4, 200S (ROUND B OF 12) OVERAll: I. Kun CaselH (KTM); 2. N.dw> Woods (y",,); 3. Hike lGed"""kJ (Suz); •. R= Pea=<> (y",,); 5. 1Y 0.,,;, (y",,); 6. Eric Rhoten; 7. No Pea=n; 8. Lance Sma;1; 9. Ricky Dietrich; 10. Kendall Nannan. The Hamel family completed the sale of its Rocky ll10untain ATV/MC World Off·Road Racing Championship Series to Adventure Sports Promotions. Sean Reddish, CEO of Adventure Sports Promotions, said the sale was consummated after a one-year periOd during which he assumed all operational responsibility for the WORCS series and became heavily involved with sponsor development. "The Hamel family wanted every assurance that this sale would be productive not only for themselves, but for the riders and the sponsors," Reddish said. "They've built a National series that is on par with any in the country, and they want to see it succeed and flourish well into the future." Dave Hamel, founder and CEO of Cross Road Adventures, conceived WORCS in 2000 initially as a six-race series. Over the years, WORCS has grown significantly and now includes 13 motorcycle events and nine quad races annually. After completing his own career as a local professional offroad racer and racing WORCS himself, Reddish joined the series as chief of operations and began promoting several of the events on his own. "Sean has done a great job with the events," Hamel said. "He's been a high-level racer himself, so he knows what's important to the riders and the sponsors. I can't think of anybody I'd rather see at the helm now." Hamel added that he began thinking about selling WORCS a little more than a year ago. '" have a wife and two young children at home, and they are my priority," he said. "The time commitment required to run a series as large as this simply became too much. It's time to put some balance back into my life." Hamel said he and his family would remain involved with the series on a personal level. "'love WORCS, and I really enjoy and appreciate the tremendous support from our riders and sponsors. This will aivvays be a part of my life at some level." Team Green's Brandon Ritzman was on hand to cheer on his teammates. He suffered a serious injury during the summer break. Ritzman broke his back, but his prognosis is good, and, in spite of the way he looks, he says that he's hoping to be ready for the next round at Honey Lake in Milford, California. Before taking the checkered flag, Kurt Caselli earned an extra $300. Maxxis Tires' Mike Farmer offered the money to the rider who could leap the farthest off one particular jump on the racecourse. Up until the last lap, Caselli did not make any attempt for the dough. " I decided to go for it on the last lap," Caselli said. "The corner before it, Iwent wide and pinned it. I flew and just puckered up for the landing. I blew past the next turn and was just happy I didn't crash. I just barely passed the mark and won. I don't know how far Iwent, and I don't want to know. My dad will kill me. I just want to thank Mike Farmer and Maxx;s for the dough." Caselli's jump measured nearly 120 feet. Kawasaki Team Green's Desuy Abbott suffered a hard get-off on Saturday and couldn't race on Sunday. "I was coming off a jump in the fields and landed in a soft spot, 1guess," Abbott said. "The bike just stopped and I kept going. I was hanging on still, so once I face-planted the ground, my bike planted me. Man, it hurts! I'm just glad it's not as bad as I thought; it could have been a lot worse. I'll miss Honey Lake, but hopefully I'll be back for GoklendaJe." Nick Pearson will be heading back to the operating table to get his broken jaw fixed once and for all. Pearson broke the jaw in '04 and is still having problems. He's going to have the jaw rebroken and realigned, which will leave him out of commission for a number of weeks.