Courtesy of MotoUSA.com – Matt Davidson – May 18, 2010

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich managed the holeshot and was able to run away with the win in Round 5 of the 2010 WORCS series. Taking his second win of the season, Dietrich moved to within one point of the championship leader, Kurt Caselli, as the season reached its halfway point. His win at Honey Lake MX Park came after last month’s Adelanto race where he had a difficult time, proving he’s up for the fight.

“You can’t think about the bad races,” said Dietrich. “When I was on the line, I tried to think about the good races like (Lake) Havasu. It seemed like I was able to do that. I got the holeshot and felt great the whole race.”

KTM’s Mike Brown and Kurt Caselli continued their great performance in the 2010 season by finishing on the podium together again at Milford, California. This is the third time the duo have finished on the podium, their first being the 2010 season-opener in Phoenix and the second occurring at Lake Havasu.

Brown was able to manage a great start in second place behind Dietrich. After briefly dropping back to third during the first lap, Brown quickly regained his position and was able to maintain it through the duration of the race. In the first two laps alone Dietrich was able to put a 20-second gap on Brown which ultimately gave him the win. However, Brown remained persistent and rode his own race to finish second and earn precious points toward the title. After Round 5, Brown remains 14 points behind Dietrich in the 2010 WORCS series.

Meanwhile Caselli’s start wasn’t nearly as good as his teammate’s and he placed outside the top-10. He didn’t stay in the back for long though, and quickly charged through the pack to fifth by the end of the first lap. Even with a pit stop occurring two laps before other riders, he still managed to make up the time and pass Kawasaki’s Justin

Soule for fourth place. On the fourth lap Caselli took aim of Robby Bell, and by Lap 6 he had advanced to the final podium spot where he would remain until the finish.

Coming in fourth was the local favorite, Soule. With all his friends and family coming out to cheer him on, Soule was able to get a decent start and work his way into fourth after being passed by Caselli.

“I had a lot of friends and family out here and I think in every section I had people cheering for me, which really helps me push it that much harder,” said Soulè. “I wish I would have done a little better today, but I can’t be too picky. Fourth is still decent and I just wanted to get out of here healthy.”

Motocross hero John Dowd made an impressive debut at his first-ever WORCS race. The elder statesman of dirt bike racing challenged the difficult Northern California track and rounded out the top-10 despite his claim of being out of shape.

“My goal was to ride smooth and just conserve,” said the modest Dowd. “I don’t think I put in any really hard laps because I wanted to be able to go the whole race. I wanted to be in the top-10 so I guess I ended up with what I expected.”

WORCS Pro Results:
1. Ricky Dietrich, Kawasaki
2. Mike Brown, KTM
3. Kurt Caselli, KTM
4. Justin Soule’, Kawasaki
5. Robby Bell, Kawasaki
6. Kevin Rookstool, KTM
7. Colton Udall, Honda
8. Brenden Ritzman, KTM
9. Bobby Garrison, Husqvarna
10. John Dowd, Kawasaki

WORCS Pro Overall Point Standings:
1. Kurt Caselli, 107
2. Ricky Dietrich, 106
3. Mike Brown, 92
4. Justin Soule’, 83
5. Colton Udall, 60
6. Bobby Garrison, 58
7. Robby Bell, 58
8. Gary Sutherlin, 56
9. Jonathan Davis, 44
10. Nathan Woods, 41

Pro 2 Results:
1. Cory Graffunder, Husqvarna
2. Ross Neely, KTM
3. Justin Seeds, Kawasaki
4. Corey Floyd, Kawasaki
5. Ian Blythe, KTM
6. Mark Samuels, Kawasaki
7. Cody Schafer, Kawasaki
8. Travis Coy, Honda
9. Brad Goolsby, Kawasaki
10. Luke Reynolds, Kawasaki

Pro 2 Overall Point Standings:
1. Ryan Abbatoye, 106
2. Brad Goolsby, 82
3. Cole Martinez, 75
4. Ian Blythe, 70
5. Justin Seeds, 63