Tatum Sik Leads Charge in Women Pro at Mid Season

Lake Havasu City, AZ – After double header weekend of racing at the Crazy Horse Campground for the WORCS Pro Women racers, Tatum Sik maintained her points lead after scoring two podium finishes.  Brandy Richards won Saturday’s race and sits second in points. Tarah Gieger, Britney Gallegos and Lauren Woods round out the top five as the Rocky Mountain MC World Off-Road Championship Series presented by Maxxis and Dirt Bike heads into the second half of the season.

Tatum Sik shook off a shoulder injury after going down in practice on to finish third in Saturday’s race and came back to finish second Sunday. She currently holds a 14-point lead over Richards in the Championship points standing.

“I went down hard,” explained Sik. “I’m just glad to be on the podium. I wasn’t even sure I could ride, so to be able to ride that well…I’m stoked. It’s been a rough season. I had a great round at Taft and I’ve been struggling ever since. I had a huge crash at Primm, one at South Point and now one at Havasu. It’s been pretty tough, but I’ve managed to be on the podium every round.”

Interestingly, she raced an eight-year old Suzuki RMZ 250 given to her by Travis Pastrana at the South Point Casino for round three. “After my get off at Primm, we had to completely rebuild the bike,” said Sik. “I went to test it at Glen Helen the day before the next race, and the crank broke. I had an old bike that Pastrana gave me seven years ago, so that’s what I raced.”

Brandy Richards, who is from Lake Havasu, is a 15-year veteran and in her third year as a WORCS Pro. Given that she’s only 19 that means she’s been racing since she was four. Richards won Saturday’s race, marking her third consecutive victory, but had a hard crash in Sunday’s event, which ended her win streak while leading with her finishing fourth. She sits second in points despite missing the first round with a knee injury.

“I love the tracks and the atmosphere here in WORCS, and winning in your hometown is the best feeling,” said Richards. “In the second race, I was trying to pass a lapper, caught a soft spot on a berm and went over the bars hard. I’m really sore. I’m pretty disappointed, but I hope that I can come back better.”

Tarah Gieger won her first ever WORCS Pro Women’s race Sunday and finished second on Saturday.  She battled with Sik in both races, bringing back memories of racing her in motocross. She is in her first full season of WORCS competition and she hails all the way from Winter Garden, FL.

“Tatum and I had some fun battles,” said Gieger of her victory. “I got past her early, and then let off a little too much and she passed me. She stalled at the finish line about halfway through and I took the lead for good there. It was a fun race. The track was getting really rough and the lappers were tough for the last 15 minutes, so it was about being smart and not make a silly mistake. She passed me in the lake section. It was kind of refreshing, actually.”

Britney Gallegos put together a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s race, but a hard get off sidelined her efforts to a DNF on Sunday. Gallegos races a KTM 150 two-stroke in a class dominated by 250cc machines.

“It happens to the best of us. We’ll take it for what it is and move on,” said Gallegos of her crash. “I went to hit one of the tables, hit a square edge and went right over the bars. I kept running, but the bike caught up to me and took me out. My leg is hurt pretty bad and my knee is pretty torn up, but we’ll have to see.”

After a podium finish to kick off the season, Lauren Woods has slipped back to fifth place in the points championship, but is just four points behind Gallegos.

Pro Women will be back at it for their sixth round of the Rocky Mountain MC World Off-Road Championship Series presented by Maxxis and Dirt Bike on April 15-17th when the WORCS series heads to Sand Hollow in Hurricane, Utah.

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