MCR/Maxxis’ Beau Baron & Yamaha’s Dustin Nelson Podium

WORCS ATV Racing
Round #6 – Cahuilla Creek
June 5-6, 2010

Anza, CA – Can-Am’s Josh Frederick went toe to toe with MCR/Maxxis’ Beau Baron and was able to edge out the current champion for the win at round six of the 2010 WORCS series, leaving Baron to settle for second, while Yamaha’s Dustin Nelson would join them on the Pro ATV podium.Cahuilla Creek MX Park was the hosting facility for the event where dry, dusty conditions prevailed. Despite the heat and the dust, Can-Am Motoworks’ Josh Frederick was on his game as he charged off the line in Sunday’s Pro main event. Frederick came off the line in fourth and was close behind Beau Baron Dustin Nelson, and Jeremie Warnia.

Warnia would end up crashing and Nelson would drop back to third, giving Frederick the opportunity to challenge Baron for the lead. The pair battled hard for most of the race with Baron and Frederick changing positions several times. The track offered few opportunities to pass, but Frederick was finally able to get around Baron for good in the last lap when he cut to the inside of a turn while Baron went wide.

Once in the lead, Frederick began to pull away and took his third win of the season to give him a seven point lead over Baron. “I really needed this win. Beau and I are really close this year and this win gives me a little more of a comfort zone, but anything can still happen so I will still be out there giving it my all,” said Frederick, sounding a little relieved.

Beau Baron, who has been Frederick’s biggest competition this year was in third off the line and worked his way into the number two spot before the end of the first lap. “I was back in fourth and I was watching Dustin Nelson and Jeremie Warnia battling it out up front and then Warnia crashed and that put me up to second,” said Baron, who began closing in on leader, Nelson.

After just a few laps, Baron was able to make his move when Nelson went high in a berm and got hung up, allowing Baron to take over the lead. Josh Frederick also capitalized on Nelson’s mistake and was in a close second behind Baron and after a lengthy battle, Baron would finish in second place.

“Josh and I were really going at it, we were drag racing down the straights and going back and forth in the turns, it was pretty intense,” said Baron of his experience. Baron is only seven points behind Frederick in the championship race and he is determined to take the win in Washington in July.

Yamaha’s Dustin Nelson took the early lead from Warnia, but he had plenty of company as Beau Baron and Josh Frederick challenged him for the number one spot. Nelson would claim the fastest lap time of the race in lap two with a time of 07:42.041 and he held his lead for several laps before getting hung up on a berm and eventually falling back to third.

Nelson would hold down third place for over half of the race to claim the number three spot on the podium. Although Nelson had some bad luck early in the season he has recovered in the points chase and currently holds down the number four spot.

MCR/Maxxis’ Josh Row yet again ran another consistent race. Row was towards the back of the pack off the start and charged from the number 12 spot all the way to the top five by the midway point. In lap ten, Row would take over fourth and hold that position for five laps before taking it to the checkered flag. Row’s solid performance this season has him sitting in a respectable third place in the points race.

MCR/Maxxis team manager, Mike Cafro was looking good as he came from dead last to round out the top five. “I just stayed focused and rode my own race out there,” said Cafro of his hard charge through traffic. Cafro is now sixth in points for the season. “The last race hurt my points when I stopped to help someone out, but anything can still happen so I will be trying to get back in the top five,” he said.

Can-Am/Motoworks’ Dillon Zimmerman got off to a good start, holding down the number five spot off the line, but Zimmerman would drop back when Josh Row and Mike Cafro would come calling, leaving Zimmerman to settle for a sixth place finish. Zimmerman now sits in the number five spot in points for his pro rookie year.

John Shafe got off to a good start, but would fall back to take a seventh place finish, while Robbie Mitchell would come from the back to take home eighth. Ryan Piplic held strong to claim a ninth place finish and Yamaha mounted Justin Waters would round out the top ten.

In the Pro-am Ranks, MCR/Maxxis’ David Haagsma and Keith Johnson would claim the first and second spots on the Pro-am podium, and the pair is also one and two in the Pro-am points chase. Justin Jones would make his second appearance at the WORCS series for round six and take home a solid third place.

In the Women’s A class, Julie Russell continued her winning streak by taking her fifth win of the season. Russell led from start to finish and took the fastest lap time in her class as well, with a time of 08:50.907 in the second lap. Donna Espensen looked strong as she would lay claim to second and Lynn Prosser would round out the Women’s A podium in third.

The seventh round of the 2010 WORCS series will head to the woods of the Pacific Northwest on July 24th – 25th where Straddleline MX Park, located just outside of Olympia, WA, will play host as Josh Frederick and Beau Baron will battle it out for the top spot on the Pro podium.