HOEFT CONQUERS HAVASU FOR 1ST WORCS PRO WIN!

Spring Break is upon us, which can only mean one thing, It’s time for Lake Havasu! Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS brings the action to Crazy Horse Campgrounds for the next round of racing, the first of two split rounds this season. This course has the shortest lap time on the circuit, but don’t let that fool you, as it’s regarded as one of the most challenging. Over the 120-minute contest, they battled over 22 laps of rocks, sand, and the infamous Lagoon jump to emerge victorious. Justin Hoeft takes home his first victory in the 450 Pro Class at WORCS and, with that win, jumps him from 3rd to 1st in points.

After a cloudy start to the weekend, Havasu heat rolled in quickly, bringing just another obstacle for the riders involved. Teammates Hoeft and Trevor Stewart found themselves out front early on, but a small crash for Stewart led to a mechanical error which unfortunately ended his day early. With lap times coming in sub-6 minutes on a course as Havasu made, it was interesting as the leaders not only dealt with competition in their class but a constant amount of passing through the other classes during the race. Hoeft’s strategy of riding conservatively in the first hour before dropping the hammer in the second worked out flawlessly as he finished over a minute ahead of Tallon Lafountaine in the second. Aboard his SLR Honda, coming off a win in Delano, was on the move keeping Hoeft honest upfront. Most riders have a one-stop-pit strategy, but Lafountaine opts for a two-stop approach. Close behind Lafountaine as they fought hard throughout the race was KTM rider Mateo Oliveira. An early moto crash caused him to lose the front number plate and start farther back in the pack, but as the race progressed, he only showed more and more speed. This season is genuinely up for grabs as we have another rider take home the win and the top 6 in points, all within striking distance of each other. Rounding out the top 5 from the weekend on the lake was Dare Demartile on his Beta Racing machine and Zach bell for Precision Concepts Kawasaki.

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In 250 Pro, we had the battle of the foreigners with Canadian Kade Tinkler-Walker and Australian Jack Simpson sitting one and two on the podium this weekend.Β  Walker just signed a deal with SLR Honda bringing him on as a full-time rider, and he is showing quickly that he is here to stay. Kai Aiello found himself out front after the first turn putting his 3Bros Husqvarna in a great spot as the race progresses. Simpson and Kade caught Aiello as they made their moves setting them up for a battle for over an hour. Walker pulled away from Simpson but repeatedly pulled him in close, with only seconds separating them at times.

Jake Alvarez, on his FMF RPM KTM Racing Team machine, was on fire as he smashed his way through the course. He was one of the few riders on a section after the beach was doubling a step-down, which made the crowd cheer each time he hit it. Alvarez lands himself on the podium in 3rd for the first time this season after a 7th and 5th to start the season. In the points, Simpson extends his lead with a 2nd place finish, with the 2nd position being a close battle with multiple riders. Another Purvines Racing Yamaha rider Thomas Dunn has his best finish of the season in 4th, and Aiello had to settle for 5th place, still keeping him in the points standing.

Jason Fichera showed his moto skills as he took the live-engine start, grabbed the holeshot, and led the race wire to wire with Mason Decunzo not far behind, but he was never able to make a move on him to take that top spot. When Decunzo is not ripping his KTM at WORCS, he is a mechanic for the BarX Suzuki team for West Coast 250 Supercross. Hayden Florez returns to the podium after missing the box in round 2. He fought hard as he finished just over a minute behind Decunzo. Justin Patton and Tyler Jones round out the top 5. This season, every pro class will be fun to watch with so much equal talent that every race is anyone’s game, and so is the championship.

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Tristun Alvarez wins the 125 Pro class while battling with Travis Damon. A close battle but Damon ended up going down, allowing Alvarez to pull away and finish on the top. Alvarez teammate Kaitlyn Jacobs wins the Pro Women’s class over Lauren Woods and Jessica Daniel.

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS wants to thank the racers, volunteers, and everyone involved for coming out to another excellent racing weekend. We are excited to see you all at Blythe on the dates of April 7th-9th.

 

 

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