Photos: Activate Photography
After the last rounds green rolling hills, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS brings the racing action to Lake Havasu City for the first split round of the year. Renowned as one of the most challenging and tiring courses on the circuit, Havasu did not disappoint this year with the famous lagoon jump still in play, with a new run-up making only the best hit it this year. After finishing second in the first two rounds, Sebastian Marquez grabs his first career pro stock victory and the points lead. Another first in the Pro Production class as Larry Heidler, who also doubles as the series tech inspector, wins after the grueling final race of the weekend.
On Saturday, the sun came out to play as both the first rounds were quite chilly. It was refreshing to race with quite lovely weather all weekend. New additions to the pro stock class this Havasu weekend as Colton McDonald debuts in the Pro Stock class and Kody Winiecki returns to race against the best of the best at WORCS Racing. This race was all Sebastian Marquez from start to finish as he grabbed the holeshot and didn’t let anyone close that gap for the entire race. Behind him, however, had quite the carnage with Chris Johnson. He starts in 2nd place but would have to settle with a DNF after four laps of racing.
Casey Sims continued his early-season dominance as the race began slotting himself in second behind Marquez, but on the 5th lap, he would also have some issues that landed him in 6th place as the checkered flag flew. Marquez gets on top of the box after consecutive 2nd place finishes to start the year. He would grab the holeshot and take off, finishing almost 2 minutes ahead of Beau Baron in his Honda Talon machine. In his first pro/stock race of his career, Mcdonald finds the podium as he finishes in 3rd.
Pro production lined up for the weekend’s final race, and it would be one to watch as Havasu and its brutal race course ran its course, causing many of the racers to battle against machines as problems arose. On the start line, Shawn Saxton came into contact and rode into the middle section as he took out a few poles but came out unscathed. He ran a fast pace keeping him in the fight till the 4th lap had a mechanical issue which caused him to have problems pushing for long periods, where he finished in 5th. Jeremiah Wagner grabbed the holeshot and was in the front looking to compliment his race win in Delano.
Still, a faulty water pump caused him to overheat and end up in limp mode, but to salvage points, he would continue pushing and land himself in 4th. Braden Judge and Larry Heidler put on quite the show in front of the crowd at Crazy Horse Campgrounds. Judge held the lead in front of Heidler until the 9th lap of the race when he would have a rear tire failure that caused him to slow down, and Heidler capitalized. Another first as Heidler pushes ahead with his freshly tuned Polaris with the help of Queen racing, and Shawn Saxton turned his machine into a rocket ship this season. With the first three rounds in the books, Heidler takes the point lead into the Blythe with a 3-way tie for second place: Saxton, Wagner, and Judge, all fighting for the top spot only two away from the leader.
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS wants to thank the racers, volunteers, and everyone involved for coming out to another excellent racing weekend. They are excited to see you all at Blythe on the dates of Mar 31st- April 2nd.