Nic Granlund Secures Two More Podium Spots at WORCS Round 3
TAFT, California (Jan 17-19) – As round three of the WORCS approached, Nic Granlund and the STV Motorsports crew worked quickly to once again prepare Nic’s Yamaha YXZ1000R after last weekend’s race.
One of the biggest storms of the season wreaked havoc around the state causing Friday’s practice to be either cancelled or modified. WORCS crew modified the track layout and created a passable race course. Uncertainty of track conditions remained as the weather continued to threaten rain. Saturday morning high winds helped to dry out the track but sections of the track were still muddy. Nic made a decision to change his tire setup on the DWT Sector wheels. Along with some fine tuning of his Fox Shox, he felt confident in his setup. Without a chance to practice due to bad weather, Nic took the option to gain valuable track time by competing in Saturday afternoon’s SxS Pro Production race. This class allows modified engines and turbos.
As Nic was the final entry, he had the last choice of starting position in second row. At the start of the race, the soft conditions bogged down the engine and he did not have a favourable position into turn one, placing Nic mid-pack. The muddy track conditions made it difficult for all the competitors to navigate the course. There was major confusion as the course markings were unclear causing several competitors to make a wrong turn. As the field came around for lap two, the race was red flagged and stopped, returning everyone to the start line.
On the restart, Nic secured a position on the far inside, jumping off the line and taking the holeshot.
With a clear track ahead, Nic settled in to a comfortable pace and soon began catching up to the competitors from the front row and began to make passes. Moving up through the field when the white flag was received, Nic was still pushing hard and could see more racers up ahead.
Coming into the finish, Nic was the third car across the line, mere seconds from second place Larry Heidler in the car ahead. Corrected time gave Nic a second place podium finish in the Pro Production Class.
The SxS Pro Stock race was the last race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. Leading in points for this class, Nic had the first choice of starting position and once again chose the far inside hoping to repeat Saturday’s performance. When the green flag dropped, eighteen 1000cc SxSs roared into turn one. Mayhem quickly ensued and Nic came through unscathed with a 3rd place start. For the next four laps, the top three competitors set a blistering pace on the extremely rough and technical track.
“In some sections of the race, I was able to touch the bumper of the car ahead. But with lapped traffic standing in my way, I was not able to safely get around them. I decided not to take the risk of making a serious mistake,” Nic said.
A third place finish has allowed Nic to maintain the points lead, securing his 6th podium finish in a row for the start of the 2017 season.
Nic would like to thank all his sponsors that continue to provide invaluable support toward his success:
Nic G Motorsports LLC ,Yamaha, DWT Racing ,STV Motorsports, Fox Shox, RevUp Graphics, Weller Racing, Torco Oil, Lonestar Racing, Double E Racing, Rugged Radios, NRG, Hess Motorsports, Cryoheat, Skat-Trak, TireBlocks, Summers Bros, Galfer USA, IMG and GotTools Racing.
To read more about Nic visit www.nicgranlund.com
