Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS returned to Honolulu Hills for the first round, with Dare Demartile winning the 450 Pro race and MX Phenom Brock Bennett dominating in 250 Pro. FMF partnered with WORCS Racing for the 2024 season, offering a $1000 cash purse for the Pro 125 class winner. Kaitlyn Jacobs secured the Women’s Pro title, while Jackson Glathar impressed in the Pro-AM class.
Racing has wrapped up for the 2023 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Season, and all the championships have been tied up after the final round at Honolulu Hills in Taft, California. A race track filled with rolling hills and big jumps wraps up the series with quite a bang for the season. Beau Baron capped his season with a dominating performance, and Cole Fryar brought home the win in Pro-Am; lastly, Torey Matajcich finished with a perfect season in Women’s Pro.
With the Women’s Pro championship locked up for Torey Matajcich, she could have taken it easy at the last round, but she wanted to complete the perfect season. She finished 1:30 over Layne Fryar, who also finished second in the championship. Heidi Colman was in third place but had a big get-off in the offroad section, and we wish her a speedy recovery! Donna Espensen finished in third, which put her in a tie for third place in the championship with Dakota Hibler.
The trio of Baron, Travis Damon, and Braxton Grosse headed into the final round, battling for their spots in the championship. Baron and Grosse fly up the start straight side by side, with Grosse just barely edging out Baron for the holeshot, but the battle was set early on. For the first few laps, Grosse was able to hold off the charges from Baron before he made a quick move and was able to find his way around him.
Damon was next as he made the pass stick on Grosse just a few laps later, but the battle grew as the race went on with him. East Coast Pro Max Lindquist made his presence shown, shortening the gap between Damon each lap as they finished just over a second from each other. Baron clinched another Pro ATV Championship with the win, furthering his fantastic career as the winningest racer in WORCS History. Damon finishes the season in second, and Grosse finishes third in his rookie season.
Cole Fryar and Gage Leaver battled all season long as they both have won multiple rounds coming into this final round. Leaver is leading into the final round, just needing to finish to clinch his first Pro-Am Championship. Fryar was on fire all weekend as he led wire to wire in Taft. He laid down the fastest lap with a 9:41, which is almost ten seconds faster than anyone else racing in the Pro-Am class. Leaver finished in 2nd just under a minute behind Fryar but was enough to give him his first pro-am championship. The brother-sister Duo of Cole and Layne Fryar finish the season with a 2nd and 3rd in the championship.
The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS series had the final round of racing in Taft, California, at Honolulu Hills Raceway. Beau Judge wrapped up the championship for the second season, but his son Braden Judge is right behind him as racing is only getting better between them. In Pro Stock, It was a winner-take-all fight between Sebastian Marquez and Casey Sims, as whoever won between the two would come out on top in this year’s championship.
The day’s final race on Saturday was quite the spectacle as Marquez and Sims lined up side by side with the championship on the line. As the green flag dropped, they came into the first turn with Marquez sliding into the lead, running on two wheels around the first turn. They ran hard into the first off-road section of the course, but Marquez made a slight mistake, causing him to roll over in a corner, fending off Sims for the lead. With Marquez behind, Sims could back it off a little, keeping his car on the track on his way to finish in third place. Marquez fought back to finish in 4th and caused them to finish tied at 199 points in the championship.
Because of Sims’s five wins to Marquez’s three wins, Sims locks up the championship in the 2023 season. In his first Pro Stock race, Cruz Worley, stepping up from his spot in the 1000 class, showed his speed leading into the 2024 season as he started from the second line and finished first on corrected time and first physically. He put the fastest lap down at 8:22 as he goes into the next season with a win. Another racer with her first pro stock race of the season at WORCS but no stranger to racing, Shelby Leaverton, comes in second as she battled with Worley and Sims and, with corrected time, landed herself in the second place position on the podium.
For the final race of the 2023 season, Pro Production lined up, and it was the father-son boxing match we had hoped to watch all year. Beau and Braden Judge came up the start together, with Braden grabbing his 1st holeshot over the champ and his dad as he led for the first lap while his dad kept him close and in reach. After the first turn, Beau gave his son a bit of a love tap, getting him out of the way before the doubles in the motocross portion of the course. Braden said, “I wanted to wait till we got to the top so I could show everyone I let my dad around me, but he got around me pretty early after a quick move.” Once Beau made the pass, they both got into a groove, putting almost identical times up throughout their race. I’m sure this will be a battle for many more years to come, and when Beau is ready to pass down the torch, it will be in great hands.
This position also locked Braden into the #2 position for the year in championship points. Jeremiah Wagner settled into the third-place role and rode his Polaris to a third-place finish in the books. It fell just short, allowing him to slide into the third point in the championship, but that award goes to Larry Heidler.
The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCs Series wrapped up racing this past weekend at Honolulu Hills Raceway in Taft, California. Lap times hovered around the 10-minute range as riders followed the rolling hills with a pro section through a virgin piece of the race course. Justin Hoeft put an exclamation on his season by not only winning the race but also clinching the 450 Pro Championship; Jack Simpson also won in 250 Pro, with Hayden Florez taking home the win in Pro-AM.
On Saturday, Tristun Alvarez and Travis Damon had a close battle for the 125 Pro Championship, and it was quite the race to watch. Alvarez came out flying as he led the charge up the long start straight, pulling the holeshot and setting sail early in the race. Some Mechanical issues caused him to fall back throughout the race, as he needed to conserve the bike to bring it to the finish for the championship. Damon came across the line first, and as he celebrated his win, he noticed Alvarez pushing his bike towards the finish.
In a great act of sportsmanship, Damon ran back out and helped Alvarez move the bike up the finish, pushing him through the finish line and keeping him in second over Quentin Pahi. By his second-place finish, Alvarez clinched his first pro title at 16 by just one point over Damon in what I’m sure will be an excellent battle for years. Also, Brandy Richards won the Women’s Pro class aboard her KTM USA machine on Saturday.
Justin Hoeft came into the final round needing a ninth-place finish or better to lock up his first WORCS Championship and second of the year for the Purvines Racing Team. Zach Bell and Tyler Lynn’s PC Kawasaki Race team teammates led early as they separated from the back during the first hour of riding.
Lynn pulled off midway through the race as he had some pain in his hand and did not want to push it anymore as he was out of the championship hunt. Hoeft kept his calm as he settled into third, which was more than enough to clinch the title, but that was not enough as he put his head putting the fastest time on the track during his ninth lap at 9:02. One of the areas that he exceeded in was the pro section finding a different line allowed him to shave time off his lap every time through.
He closed a 40-second gap on Bell as he made a pass with two laps to go for the win to cap off an excellent season for the Purvines Racing Team. Dare Demartile had a rough start going down hard during the first lap, washing out the front end in a slick turn. That wasn’t the ending for Demartile as he pushed that Beta Racing bike to the limits, making passes as he moved up throughout the race, landing himself on the podium in the season finale.
In 250 Pro, Jack Simpson showcased the exact speed and presence that gave him the championship this year as he set sail early on in this one. He wanted to end the season with a bang as he will be bumping up to the premier class in 2024 for the Purvines Team. He capped the season with an over three-minute lead on Wyatt Matson, who came in second, a position better than his 3rd place debut last round at Mesquite. Thomas Dunn came from the back of the pack, passing a few different people, including his teammate Clayton Hengeveld, for the final spot on the podium as the checkered flag flew. Dunn had some of the best style over the big step-up on this track, with another rider from the Purvines tent, Trevor Stewart, the only one to throw it bigger over the iconic Honolulu Hills step-up.
Hayden Florez came into Taft only two points ahead of Mason Decunzo for the Pro-AM championship as the heated battle started early, with Decunzo coming out of the start on top and leading early on. The battle reached a tipping point in the third lap as they traded the lead a few separate times, with him keeping the lead in the outdoor section on the third lap. Once in the clear air of Decunzo, Florez took off, setting the fastest lap time in the Pro-AM class at 9:54 in just the next lap. Behind him, David Fry and Matt Canepa battled it until the last turn as they both got around Decunzo, where he finished in 4th. They fought hard with each other, spending less than 3 seconds apart as they finished with Fry in second and Canepa in third. Overall, it was a year to remember for the Purvines as they lock up two out of three championships and having consistent riders finish on the podium in three of the pro classes is an awesome way to finish this year.
The 2023 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS season is quickly approaching, and the battles are only heating up. Racing was held in Mesquite, Nevada, on a hot October weekend. This track is one of the favorites for many as it has an awesome flowy motocross track, but what separates it is the rough, deep sand you trek through the rest of the course. Braxton Grosse continues his excellent rookie season, winning his second in a row, and Gage Leaver wins the Pro-AM Race. Torey Matajcich secured another win in the hot weather, continuing her campaign for women’s pro-ATV Champion.
In a season that watched some of the fastest women on ATVs battle it out round after round. Torey Matajcich came into Mesquite looking to lock up another WORCS title, and she was able to accomplish precisely that. She dominated in the deep sand sections of the course and secured the win with a 52-second lead over Heidi Colman in the second position. Donna Espensen found herself in the third spot for the 3rd time this year and the second round in a row.
Braxton Grosse has dialed in his machine over the summer as he showcased another great race in Mesquite. Off the line, Grosse and Beau Baron battled into the first corner, with Grosse barely beating him into the first corner, allowing him to have clean air pushing into the offroad section of the course. As Grosse could separate from the pack with the clean air, battles only grew in the race behind him. A trio of racers, including Baron, Travis Damon, and Max Lindquist, battled lap after lap, with the order switching multiple times throughout the race. Lindquist only got stronger after each lap, putting down the fastest lap time of the day in his 7th lap with a time of 9:26 and finished just twenty seconds behind Grosse. Baron pushed his machine to the max in third place, trying to fend off the rest of the field as they battled into the later parts of the 90-minute moto. As the dust settled, Damon pulled a last lap pass to get himself onto the podium and shave a few points off the championship leader Baron heading into the final round of racing in Taft.
Another great battle for the championship in points is in Pro-Am, with Gage Leaver and Cole Fryar exchanging wins throughout the year. Leaver, who has scored a consistent year finishing on the podium in all but two races this year, continued the streak with a win in Mesquite, extending his points lead and coming into the last round of the series with high hopes for a championship in play. Cole Fryar has three wins compared to the two that Gage has. Still, a few mechanical issues caused him to miss out on the podium again in Mesquite, a heartbreaking ride after putting a blistering pace in the first few laps of the moto and finishing in 6th place. It was great to see Wyatt Rock back behind the gate; he came in second place on his first podium since he took the win in Lake Havasu back in March. The final spot on the box belonged to Rylan Steadman; He Brought it home with his third straight podium finish.
The final round for the 2023 Season will be held in Taft, California, on the 20th and 22nd. The crew Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS wants to thank all the competitors, vendors, and volunteers for coming out to race, and we can’t wait to see you at the next round!
Racing for the 2023 season is ending quickly, as only two rounds of the Rocky Mountain ATV MC WORCS series remain. A familiar track in Mesquite was the home to round 8 with a great turnout of the regulars but tons of local racers showcasing their ability on home turf. With the addition of some new land, the track crew at WORCS was able to add some fresh sections of the course to the fantastic track that makes Mesquite a yearly staple in the community. Cole Martinez wins in Pro 450 after missing the last two rounds recovering from an injury, as Jack Simpson wins in Pro 250 with an excellent performance in the sand.
Early Saturday morning, Tristun Alvarez set off on his RPM KTM 125 machine and, during the first lap, had an incident with another rider on the steep uphill, causing him to go from the first to last, but that didn’t faze him. He put his head down and made pass after pass before reaching Travis Damon and his Perry Concepts Racing Yamaha. They Battled for a while before Alvarez made a pass and got it to stick, leading the rest until finished. Alvarez gained a few valuable points in the championship leading into the final round. Another FMF RPM Rider, Kaitlyn Jacobs, secured her title this season with a second-place finish; this is her first pro title at Rocky Mountain ATV MC WORCS.
On Sunday, the heat was no joke as the pros lined up for the 2-hour race with temps hovering in the 90s and minimal breeze, which meant stamina and conditioning were more pivotal than ever. Precision Concepts Tyler Lynn was able to continue his hot starts with another holeshot as he led the pack into the sandy off-road course, gaining a lead in the early stages of the race while the pack battled back and forth behind him. Behind him, battles were brewing with SLR Honda Cole Martinez, Purvines Racing Justin Hoeft, and KTM Mateo Oliviera, with positions switching laps each lap. Martinez settled into second before having a big get-off in the sand; he got back up and put a push chasing after Lynn and Hoeft. Lynn talked about how he had a great pace, but towards the end, the heat took a tool as he backed off a bit, allowing the competition to catch up and make the passes towards the end of the moto. With the second-place finish, Hoeft added to his points lead over Mateo Oliviera, but anything can happen as we head to Taft for the final round in just two short weeks.
Purvines Racing Jack Simpson came into Mesquite with a 27-point lead over RPM FMF Jake Alvarez, and off the gate, it was precisely that as they battled hard into the first corner with those two and 3 Bros Husqvarna Kai Aiello battling for the lead. Simpson was able to get out in front early, holding it wide open as they battled heavily with just seconds separating them in the early stages of this race. Sadly, Alvarez went down hard and could not finish the race, allowing Simpson to pull away and grab his 3rd win of the season.
On top of the success, this allowed him to claim the Pro 250 championship for himself and the Purvines Racing team. Behind him, 3 Bros Racing Colton Aeck moved up from a not-ideal start towards the back and made methodical passes to find himself on the box for the third straight round. After taking an almost 3-year Hiatus, Wyatt Mattson returned and not only finished but landed on the box in third place, riding a loaner bike from Kaitlyn Jacobs that they built on Thursday night, hours before they left for Mesquite.
In Pro-Am, the newest rider for SLR Honda, Jace Allred, came and showcased why he is the team’s latest rider as he dominated in Mesquite. Both Allred and another new rider to WORCS, Jack Glathar, were able to put up a 1-2 spot in the sandy conditions of Mesquite. Glathar pulled the holeshot only briefly before Allred moved to get in front and check out. In third place, Mason Decunzo pushed hard to keep up with the rest of the podium finishers, but after 90 minutes, he said he was gassed and settled into a rhythm and pace to get that final spot. Decunzo shortened the gap between him and Hayden Florez for the title.
It was warm for the 8th installment of the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS Series in Mesquite, Nevada. Championships were crowned, and battles grew even closer as we headed into the final round in just a few weeks. This track has one of the most significant differences between off-road and motocross tracks, with big jumps and even small rhythm sections to this course’s deep, rutted sandy off-road portion. Beau Judge brought his fresh can-am to the top of the podium to make it 2 for 2 in his new machine, as Sebastian Marquez wins in the Pro-Am class.
Judge defended his championship from last year as he secured the 2023 Pro Production championship with his win in Mesquite. At the start, contact was made with Judge and Larry Heidler, allowing him to separate from the pack early, gaining some valuable time with fresh air in front of him. That’s all Judge needed for his win as the battle was close behind him. Still, he only got stronger as the race progressed, putting the fastest lap down during his final lap with a time of 9:25. Shawn Saxton returned after missing the previous round, started from the second line, and ran a great pace, able to get by Braden Judge based on time putting him in second place for the third time this season. Braden Judge finished in third, putting him a few more points ahead of Larry Heidler in the championship, as the next three are incredibly close for final spots on the podium.
Meanwhile, nothing is set in stone in the Pro Stock class, with Marquez and Casey Sims separated by only two points. Looks like we are headed to a winner-take-all in the final round. At the start, it was Marquez finding himself out front with Sims right behind; a few mistakes cost Sims, allowing Marquez to capture a 2-minute lead by the second lap. Beau Baron finished in 3rd, securing 3rd place in the championship aboard his Honda Talon.
The final round for the 2023 Season will be held in Taft, California, on the 20th and 22nd. The crew Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS wants to thank all the competitors, vendors, and volunteers for coming out to race, and we can’t wait to see you at the next round!
Submit your own amateur race report here! October 10, 2023 – Vernal, UT Kyson Christensen was excited to get back out on the race track for Round 7, after a short summer break. He was excited to be racing in his home state and wanted to bring home that number 1 spot! Kyson knew the dust on this track could be an issue, so getting the holeshot would make a big difference. Once the green flag dropped he did just that, he got the holeshot! All the drivers drove an excellent race and kept it close. Kyson was able to keep the lead the entire race, landing him a 1st place win!
At podium he thanked his family and sponsors- Christensen Ready Mix, Antigravity Batteries, Hansen Motorsports and Rugged Radios.
Submit your own amateur race report here! October 10, 2023 – Mesquite, NV Emmy Engle came into round 8 in Mesquite NV prepared to battle. She had some tuff luck at Round 6 and 7, so she was ready to get back to her winning ways. As Emmy shot off the starting line in her Benchmark Performance prepped RZR170 her GBC tires hooked up and landed her in 2nd place going into corner. Emmy stayed within striking distance for the 1st lap then made her move into the lead. Emmy Engle never looked back stretching her lead out and taking the win. This was her 6th win in 8 rounds. Now she goes into Round 9 the final round with a sizable points lead.
Emmy Engle would like to thank all of the people and companies that support her: Benchmark Performance GBC Tires PRP Seat Sunstar Sprockets Powder 1 Inc. PCI Race Radios The Carbon Cartel Go Fast Girls TE Motorsports
| SOCIAL MEDIA: | Instagram – @emmyengle1 |
Summer break has finally ended, as the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS Crew brings the racing action to a brand new venue in beautiful Vernal, Utah. This 8.5-mile course brought quite the challenges, with big jumps in the motocross section and deep pockets of silt through the Offroad section. That didn’t scare off too many riders as the best of the best lined up to battle it out with three rounds remaining in this year’s championship season. Torey Matajcich continues her outstanding season as she wins in women’s pro. In Pro, Braxton Grosse showed the older guys the new generation by winning his second of the season, and Gage Leaver won his first-ever Pro-Am in dominant fashion.
The women’s pro class lined up on Saturday afternoon, ready to battle it through the hills and desert. Heidi Colman grabbed the holeshot and led early, as clean air was pivotal in this race. Once she caught up to the following line, she got caught up with a few different riders and got stuck, causing her to fall out of the lead.
She would keep pushing, finishing just off the podium in 4th place. Points leader Matajcich took advantage of the miscues, allowing herself to slide into the front position, with Layne Friar also pushing hard to reach that top spot. Multiple riders found themselves in situations where they had to push their quad from being high-centered in some of the deep silt pockets of the course. As the dust settled, it was Matajcich on the podium’s top step, with Friar finishing second and Donna Espensen third.
On Sunday, the 90-minute pro race was held, and a bit of a breeze started to pick up to increase some visibility, but the silt was still thick and caused its fair share of problems. In Pro, Braxton Grosse would show just how vital the holeshot was as he could get fresh air early and grab a lead early on. Points leader Beau Baron was on the opposite side of this as a rough start made the work cut out for him, having to pass multiple riders to get himself back on the box. A big part of this race would be how each rider and his team strategized the pits, as some opted for a filter change while some tried extra cover instead of changing.
Travis Damon kept Grosse from getting too far ahead as he would slowly reel him in after his pit, where he changed the filter while Grosse did not. This allowed Grosse to separate himself far enough to bring home his second win of the season in his rookie year. Damon and Baron have been battling all season, both finishing on the podium in all but one race this year, and the points show it as they get even closer, with Damon only 9 points behind with two rounds to go. Baron put the hammer down as he started from the back but found his way throughout the race to push himself into third to minimize the damage and keep himself secured in the championship points. Max Lindquist and Logan Huff had quite the battle, putting bar-to-bar action over multiple laps with another one of the many battles during this race.
Gage Leaver showcased his speed in his rookie year of Pro-AM racing by leading this race from start to finish with a lead of over 3 minutes by the time the checkered flag flew. At the start, Leaver and Rylan Steadman came into the first turn side by side, but Leaver came out on top and took advantage of the visibility and clean air to separate as he set sail early on. The points leader coming into Vernal Cole Fryar, had quite the day with a last-minute fix on the line to get the race going. Over one of the jumps in the motocross section, his axle broke, leaving him on three tires, but luckily, he could stay on the machine and come out of the accident healthy. After finishing second in the women’s Pro class, Layne Fryar also found herself in third place in the Pro-Am class. With the win, leaver moves into first in points with the last two rounds being up 19 points in the championship.
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS wants to thank all the riders, staff, and volunteers for coming out and supporting round 7 of the season and we can’t wait to see everyone at Mesquite on October 6th-8th.
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