By: Connor Moore

After a two-year hiatus due to the friendly epidemic, Rocky Mountain WORCS ATV/MC made its epic return to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The racing format ditched the typical 2-hour endurance format, and they had a 45-minute sprint with lap times in the pro class, landing around the 1:45 mark. Oliveira brothers would continue their Dominance in Off-road racing this year as they land on top of their 450 and 250 Pro classes. Collier Martinez would win in Pro-Am, and Brandy Richards would take the win in Women’s Pro. This track covered many disciplines with rocks, logs, an arena cross aspect, and don’t forget about the asphalt section outside.

Saturday had quite the full day of racing, with the weekend being shared by both the MC and the ATV/SXS participants. While most racing would be held during the day, the pros for MC would have the opportunity to race under the lights with the Vegas skyline not too far away in the distance. This course was very narrow, not leaving any room to pass, making a good start even more crucial. Dante Oliveira riding his Factory FMF KTM, would showcase exactly that by pulling a holeshot and setting his own pace and staying consistent for the entire race by holding off Tyler Lynn to lead from start to finish in Vegas. The schedule would have 26 races slated for Saturday competition, and with the Pro MC being one of the final races of the day, it led to some very challenging conditions.

Some of the corners would become incredibly slick as the water was laid down on the course to keep the dust down as high winds would pick up throughout the day.  Lynn would put together a similar race to get away from a few of his competitors, allowing him to focus on his lap times and bring home the second place on board his Precision Concepts Racing Kawasaki. Meanwhile, 3rd place would be quite the battle between Factory Beta rider Dare Demartile and SLR Honda rider Cole Martinez. On the 6th lap of the race, Martinez would make a pass on Demartile to take over the final podium spot, where he would hold that lead for the majority of the race up until lap 21, where Martinez would slip up in the pro rock section where he would lay it down in the rocks allowing Demartile to get back around him into 3rd place which is where he would finish as the checkered flag flew. 

The Pro 250 class would have its fair share of drama and battles as Mateo Oliveira would look to continue his perfect 2022 season in both WORCS and NGPC. Oliveira, who rides for FMF RPM KTM Racing, would battle the entire race with SLR Honda rider Jack Simpson. On the last lap, Simpson would make a move passing him for the lead, but unfortunately, he would wind up disqualified, which allowed Oliveira to reclaim the top spot in the class. The fastest lap of the weekend in all the classes would go to Oliveira with a time of 1:44.158, which tops even his brother. Colton Aeck would start the race in second, but Oliveira would make a quick move and get around him, but we would hold his position for the remainder of the race holding off a late push from Kai Aiello. Starting from deep in the pack, Aiello riding for 3Bros Kilmartin Racing, would make his way up behind Aeck, finishing just over ten seconds behind.

In Pro-Am, Collier Martinez would take the win under the lights for his SLR Honda team. This class would have the most changes in position as Brandy Richards would double up her podiums this weekend after taking the Women’s Pro earlier in the day. In third place, Cody Walker would land on the stage for the first time after starting back in 13th place and fighting his way all up to 4th place after only the fifth lap and up into 3rd later on in the race. The women’s pro class would line up with the 450A, 250A, and 125A riders in the afternoon, where Brandy Richards would put on quite the show. Richards would set a blazing pace, taking the overall in the race in adjusted time and finishing 2nd physically after starting from the third line.

Thank you to all of our racers who came out to the Orleans Arena for round 5 of the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS Series. We hope to see you guys in Cedar City at Three Peaks Oasis on May 27th-29th.