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Phoenix WORC's Race
The WORC's series started out in Phoenix this year at Speed World Raceway. Sun and warm air greeted us as we arrived in the Arizona desert. We knew what to expect at the race this year as last year we both had our filters clog with dirt. This year we didn't ride as much trail and pretty much stayed on the moto tracks as well as about a half mile straight with a sandwash bringing us back to the tracks. For the Pro race there was also a waterfall drop off into a creek bed with some rocks after it that turned out to be pretty neat. All of the top riders on the West Coast were in attendance on the weekend resulting in some major competition. This race was pretty moto oriented with the track looking a lot like LACR or Adelento. I had some top end problems right before we had to leave so I broke out the 400 4-stroke for another call to duty. For the Team Race Brian got off to a good third place start. Most of the other riders had raced earlier in the day and knew the track but Brian was keeping his own. He had a couple of crashes in some of the slick moto track corners and handed the bike off to me just out of the top five. We had a good switch and I got around a couple of the guys right in front of me in the first part of the motocross track that we ran last year. The new section had a bunch of soft blown out corners followed by tabletops. The fast section was fun on the 400 with the bike feeling really stable on the choppy 75 MPH road. When we turned the corner and came through the sandwash I was then wishing I had the 250 as the deep sand whoops were eating me up. I switched it back to Brian and he looked comfortable now and began making up time on the teams ahead of us. He handed the bike back to me in a tie with the second place team. I took off with Dave Neumeister on his 520 and we had a good race for the lap. I led his through the moto track but he got under me in a corner and led into the long straightaway. I was getting roosted and dusted out pretty bad but I wanted to get around him so I wouldn't have to suck dust though the sandwash. I kept it on a little longer and made the pass before the sandwash. That didn't shake Dave and we raced through the rest of the course with him making a pass on the inside at the end of the lap. We made the pass at the exchange and started the next lap in second. Brian was on the gas and closed in on the Phillips brothers Husaberg team leading the race. Brian caught right up to the back of the leaders and the checkered flag came out so we finished second. There were a ton of pro riders showing up for Sunday's race. With the first round of the National Enduro Series being held on the same day all of the top guys who usually go to the Enduro skipped it in order to race the WORC's series. I spun a little off of the concrete start but didn't get off the line too bad but noticed Brian who started just to the inside of me didn't get off the gate well. I cut to the inside of the fast sweeping first turn and Brian passed me way to the inside of the first turn. I couldn't ride as aggressive as I needed to at the beginning was stuck in about 15th. Brian made a few early passes and was at the back of the lead pack, which spread out real quick when we got into the dusty sandwash. Up front Ty Davis was putting in a great ride and opened up a lead over Rodney Smith, Robert Naughton, Destry Abbott, and Mike Kiedrowski. After just a few laps Ty pulled into the pits with a piece of dirt in the carb causing his bike to run badly. When I got a few laps into the race I noticed that I was seeing all of the guys ahead of me in the same place lap after lap. Brian and I would see each other two places a lap and look over to see how the other was doing. Brian came to pit on the first lap a little earlier than his pit crew expected and dropped a spot to David Pearson in the process. He came out strong and tried to get around David on his KX 500 but got roosted so bad trying to pass him he had to back off. After the race when he took off his shirt there was roost marks around his chest that formed into probably fifty bruises. By this time Mike Kiedrowski was the man on the move taking the lead after Ty's problem, Rodney's bike broke, and passes on Destry and Naughton. I kept on it for the rest of the race and finished tenth. Brian was a couple of spots ahead of me in eighth. Defending series champion Kiedrowski held on to the win ahead of Destry, Ty Davis, Naughton, Nick Pearson, Kurt Caselli, David Pearson, Brian, Dave Neumeister and myself.
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