Round 3 of the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS series heads to Lake Havasu just in time for the proper opening weekend of spring break activities.  The Oliveira brothers continue their dominance in the series-winning both of their classes to continue their perfect season. Pro-Am rider Collier Martinez would cap off his birthday weekend with a win at one of the most challenging tracks in the circuit. 

This year’s course was brutal and made the riders need to be fast and intelligent as the course could change every single lap. Dane Perry and the track crew would put together quite the course this year with a few big changes from years past. First of all, the iconic Lagoon jump would be heading in the opposite direction than in years past, and this small change would be the cause of quite a few crashes over the weekend.

The weekend’s final race, which began at 12:50 PM, would have your premier class riders battle it out for two hours under the Havasu sun. FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Dante Oliviera would charge ahead of both SLR Honda rider Cole Martinez and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider Austin Walton and hold the lead at the end of the first lap. With a shorter lap time that sits right around the 4-minute mark, this course would become quite the factor as the number of laps being run would create quite the technical track. 

Martinez would keep Oliveira honest throughout the race, never allowing him to check out as they would trade fast lap times. Towards the end of the race, Oliviera would have quite the scare as he would miss a gear as he came up to the lagoon jump and would smash the lip of the landing as he would on to make the landing and would be able to keep going not losing too much time. The run-up to the lagoon jump was quite challenging as the ruts grew deeper and deeper from the weekend’s racing, as most of the riders would agree as that being one of the most complex parts on course.  “This is one of the slower courses but it is grueling with big braking holes, and it’s really a battle of fitness.” Said Walton.  

Mateo Oliviera on his RPM FMF Factory KTM would take the victory, making that three for three and even more impressive six for six on the year as he is also racing NGPC. Oliviera would run away from the 250 pro class and pass most of the 450 pro class, where he finished 5th Overall once the checkered flag was waved. Kai Aiello is another rider switching from motocross to a pro 250 podium finisher in  WORCS aboard his 3Bros Kilmartin Husqvarna machine. Jack Simpson aboard his SLR Honda, who was running in 2nd place, would have a mechanical issue luckily as he came into the pits, allowing Aiello on his Husqvarna to pass him up and take the 2nd place home. “We had a small issue with our kill switch, and my bike cut out as I rolled into the pits, and the team did a great job identifying the issue and getting me back out there.” Said Simpson. 

 Pro-Am had another fresh face on the box with Joe Nikirk, who made the trek from British Columbia about a 23-hour drive to race this round. He would put in a solid effort behind some tough competition to take home the third spot on the podium. “I had some trouble with the heat yesterday, so cut up some of my gear to let the air flow, and here we are!” Said Nikirk. She won the Women’s Pro class on Saturday, but that just was not quite enough as Brandy Richards is back on the podium on her Elite Racing KTM ride with a second-place finish. Richards would struggle during the first hour of the race after having a few minor crashes but was able to recover and start to click off laps more consistently. “This has to be the worst I’ve seen this track in probably ten years; it’s just that rough.” Said Richards.  On top of the podium, we would have Collier Martinez aboard his SLR Honda be able to check out after Richards fell over. Some of the other podium finishers would save their bottles of champagne and silly string to cover Martinez after interviewing to celebrate his 18th Birthday fully. 

The Women’s Pro class would have a battle between Brandy Richards and Mica Diaz, and after the hour-long race, it would be Richards standing on top of the box aboard her Elite Racing KTM. 

Thank you to all the racers who came out this weekend to support WORCS Racing, and round 4 of the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC will return to Honolulu Hills in Taft, California, on April 8th-10th.