Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS brought the action to Shorty’s Sports Park in Blythe, CA, for the fourth round of the 2023 season. This track is unique, with action racing through the canyon and the terrain mixing from the hard-packed jump-friendly MX track to a deep, rutted off-road section all in one.  On top of the track, the Pro and Pro-Am classes welcomed another change as their race was extended to 2 hours, the same as the Pro MC racers. After a rough finish in Lake Havasu, Beau Baron finds himself on top of the box. In Pro-AM, Cole Fryar shook off the DNF in Havasu to win this round, and Torey Matajcich continues her perfect season as she succeeds in women’s pro.

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Travis Damon was in the front of the pack off the starting line as the top 5 battled, with only 10 seconds separating them after the first lap. Braxton Grosse and Beau Baron did quick work of some of the competition setting up an incredible all-out battle for first place as the lead would swap between those three multiple times throughout the race. Logan Huff had an unfortunate accident causing him to DNF early on in the race, but he will be back ready to battle hard at Glen Helen for the next one. For the first hour and 15 minutes, Damon kept his lead in front of a charging Grosse and Baron, but in a stroke of bad luck, his engine would blow as he finished in sixth, still holding him close and striking range for the championship. Baron fought stomach pain for the first half of this race as he pushed through each lap with what he said: “felt like a stabbing pain through the bumps every lap.” He kept Grosse in his sights and, after it subsided during the race, could push himself and his machine past Grosse, land himself back on top of the box, and extend his points lead. After the 4th round, Baron has a 4-point lead over the rookie Grosse, who is putting together a spectacular rookie season. In 3rd would be Damon, eleven points behind but don’t count anyone out yet. In third place was Auston Baxter for his first podium of the year.

Blythe saw great racing in all Pro classes, as the Pro-AM was no exception. Joseph Semas was in the lead early on, but a mechanical issue caused an early DNF. After a dominant performance cut short in Havasu, Cole Fryar was on a mission early to showcase what he could do as he set a blistering pace early and found himself way up after some of his competition found themselves dealing with issues. As the race progressed, Fryar took a steady approach to keep his quad running and preserve his win, finishing just under 3 minutes from Gage Leaver in second place. Leaver put his head down and fought through the pack, starting towards the back and finishing the first lap in 7th place. That didn’t stop him as he would knock time off and position by position and made the pass on Rylan Steadman for second place with a few laps to go. The second podium of the season for Leaver, but the second is his best finish yet as he sits second in points now, only 3 points behind Uriah Tsinnijinnie in first. A new face for the podium this season as Rylan Steadman rounds out the stage, with his prior best finish being 8th at the season opener.

In Women’s Pro, Matajcich and Lane Fryar had a battle from start to finish as Fryar kept her honest throughout the race. Matajcich recorded the fastest lap in the women’s class with an 8:16 lap time in her third lap of the race.  Dakota Hibler fought from 5th to 3rd place, passing Donna Espensen and Heidi Coleman in the process.

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS wants to thank all the racers, volunteers, and workers for another great weekend of racing at Shorty’s sports park. We can’t wait to see everyone again at the next round, where we combine all the disciplines again at Glen Helen on May 4th-6th.