The 2024 Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS Series is halfway through, as racers head to Shorty’s MX park in Blythe, California. One of the fastest tracks on the circuit had the riders pushing themselves to the limit as they flew down the long straights. On the motocross portion, big jumps as you snaked back and forth in front of the crowd before dropping down through the canyons into the Offroad, littered with deep sands and high-speed sweepers. Endurance was the name of the game, as all three classes had lead changes throughout the race. Justin Hoeft brought home his second-season victory as Mason Semmens made it his 3rd in a row, and Jackson Glathar again found the top spot in Blythe. 

A warm weekend in April brought sunny skies to Shorty’s. Temperatures were in the mid-80s, and a breeze made it the hottest round of the year so far. Dare Demartile put his Beta USA 450 in the lead after grabbing a holeshot and found himself with clean air early, giving himself a big lead in the race’s first half. Tyler Lynn had a slight mishap on the start, forcing him to start in dead last with quite the gap, but that didn’t stop him from closing that gap and being in the mix early. He made some moves as he battled against teammate Cole Martinez and Purvines Racing Jack Simpson throughout before solidifying his place in 3rd behind Demartile and Hoeft.

The SLR Honda was singing through the long straights and high-speed sections as he finished in 3rd place after closing the gap on the top 2 later in the race. In typical Hoeft fashion, he started the race smoothly, allowing Demartile to gather a significant lead, but then, around the halfway point, he began to put the hammer down. Hoeft had about 4 seconds on Demartile in the second half of the race and, with just a few laps left, made a pass stick on Demartile to grab the lead. They battled hard, but Hoeft stood on top just under ten seconds ahead of Demartile. Lynn finished the race in 3rd, another consistent race from him as the points began to heat up going into the halfway point and one more round till the summer break. Jack Simpson and Tyler Belknap finished in the top 5. 

In 250 Pro, this class has some of the closest and most entertaining battles to watch every weekend, as every racer here is matched so evenly. Australian rider Mason Semmens, riding for RPM FMF KTM Racing, grabbed the holeshot in front of the stacked class. Just before they headed down the canyon, he had a slight tipover, allowing Colton Aeck to make the pass and grab the lead from him, but he was on the bike quickly to only fall back one position. Aeck held off Semmens’s charges on his Hatch Racing Kawasaki for a while, but Semmens found a way around him after a few heated laps of racing. Having a breakout year on his Husqvarna, Cole Zeller had an unfortunate start, but that didn’t stop him from getting faster each lap and picking his way through the class one by one. The weekend battle seems to be between Zeller and Kai Aiello, almost every round by now, and this one was no different. Battling for third place, Zeller found a way around him, but they stayed just seconds apart for most of the second half. Unfortunately, Colton Aeck had to call it a day after a mechanical ended his battle for first early, but I’m sure he will be back to contest Semmens next month in Cedar City. Semmens finished just a minute ahead of Zeller to grab his third win in as many rounds at WORCS. His teammate Jake Alvarez and another Aussie, Sam Pretscherer, finished in the top 5. 

Noah Gordon came out of the gates in the Pro-Am class, flying after taking the holeshot and putting a good distance between him and the rest of the field. Behind him, the battles were growing as the top 6 battled each other as the race continued. Jackson Glathar had a rough dead engine start, giving him quite the uphill battle to make his way to the front and slowly picking off riders till he was in second behind Gordon, who had a pretty sizeable lead for most of the race. With two laps remaining, Gordon blew a shock, making him check up on his lead, and Glathar took advantage of that as he finished just ahead of him, less than a second in front of Gordon after the brutal 2-hour race. Racer Fry and Kayden Lynn had a similar battle coming down to the checkered flag, with Fry winning just over a second against Lynn. 

On Saturday, the 125 Pro class lined up with Ryan Surratt, who was looking to continue his hot streak as of late. Surratt was able to let that baby sing in the desert, leading his way after an early Moto pass on Tristun Alvarez. Unfortunately, Surratt will go in for surgery on his shoulder later this week, and we wish him a fast recovery and to be out there as soon as possible. Travis Damon finished in 3rd.

Womens Pro lined up on Saturday afternoon with Mikayla Nielsen pushing her SLR Honda to its limit as she wins with Kaitlyn Jacobs finishing in second place.