The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS series is back with a bang to start the 2023 season. To kick off the season, we headed to the newly renovated Buffalo Bills Casino in Primm, Nevada, with just over a 7-mile course to battle it out on. In addition to the existing pro classes, they added a 125 pro class, contested early Saturday morning, allowing that beautiful two-stroke sound to ring through the air. Travis Damon brought home the first 125 Pro class victory aboard his mint 2004 Perry Concepts Honda. Tyler Lynn claimed his 1st 450 Pro Victory for Precision Concepts Kawasaki after an intense race with a stacked field of competitors. Over this 7-mile course, they faced many obstacles, with some new sections thrown in to create challenges for the elite riders. The first pro section was quite the spectacle, with two sets of tires plus a suspended log that you had to traverse quickly after starting the race. It caused quite the shakeup as it took out multiple riders, such as Tallon Lafountaine and Jack Simpson, over the weekend, but both were okay and kept racing. Gus Riordan found the fast line and was the only rider to use the first log to double in, clearing the first rock as the east coast GNCC Rider came to warm up for the season. They also raced through two “raw” sections, which allowed the riders to choose their lines through uncut portions of the track, concluding the pro section was a rock garden with a few different fast lines to get through.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cole Martinez and Tyler Lynn would barrel down the start straight, with Lynn barely edging out Martinez for the lead after the first turn. On his Purvines Racing Yamaha, Justin Hoeft would make a pass early in the race and hold second place, while the top 5 would pull away from the rest of the field and begin their battle. Precision Concepts rider Lynn would never relinquish his top spot as he rode fast and safely for the entire 2-hour moto, pushing his lead to a comfy 30-second cushion.  Mateo Oliveira, who moved up from the 250 Pro after his championship last season, filling his brother’s shoes as he moves over to the AMA WHS series, would have quite the battle with SLR Honda rider Lafountaine for the start of the race as they all sat in the top 5 before he accidentally found himself out of fuel. As Lynn would start to gain time in front, the action was brewing in the back as Martinez would make a pass by Hoeft to put him in second as he set off to track down Lynn. Oliveira would ultimately get by Hoeft, allowing him to grab his first 450 podium.

In 250 Pro, Kai Aiello would take the holeshot, but after a crash in the tires would see him too far behind to catch up to the guys on the podium. Gus Riordan showcased that GNCC style and speed as he shot out to a dominant lead early in the race on his RPM Racing KTM. He pulled away after Jack Simpson had an unfortunate get-off over the first big tire, which saw him give the crowd a nice scorpion. After the fall, Purvines Racing Simpson pushed hard to catch Riordan but didn’t have enough time as he would finish second, 54 seconds behind. Collier Martinez riding for SLR Honda in his first 250 Pro Race after a dominant season in Pro-Am last year, found himself in a fight for third with Gainslinger Racing Cole Zeller. As the race was winding to a close, Zeller would close the gap to 6 seconds, but it was too late as Martinez grabbed the final spot on the podium.

Gus Riordan clearing the first tire in the pro section.

Collier Martinez in full send mode over the suspended log

Jack Simpson creating some waves through the sand after the rocks

Both Martinez and Richards were consistent podium finishers in Pro-Am last season, moving up to 250 Pro, which leaves the class wide open with a great group of riders to battle it out for the championship. The top 3 finished within 30 seconds of each other, but Eric Danoski and the Gainslinger Racing team brought home the win as he left it all on the line, even finishing the race with a flat tire. Rounding out the podium for the Pro-AM would be Hayden Florez and Justin Patton.

In Women’s Pro, Brandy Richards would take home the win as she also found herself on the podium for the 125 Pro class finishing second behind Damon. Riding for Reezen Kilmartin Racing, Lauren Woods would finish the race in second, and Kaitlyn Jacobs finished in third on her RPM KTM. In the new class 125 Pro, Tristun Alvarez grabbed the holeshot but ultimately fell back to 3rd behind Damon and Richards.  Richards and Damon both fell in the first lap but regained composure and would swap leads back and forth before having Damon take the win.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We want to thank all the sponsors, workers, and especially the racers who came to round one of the 2023 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS Series. We hope to see everyone at Delano for the second round on February 10-12th!