2014 WORCS Racing
Round #6 – Iron Mine Race Park
July 13, 2014
Cedar City, Utah
SOLID DWT PODIUM
WORCS Racing ATV Pro Podium (left to right)
Josh Row (2nd) – DWT WHEELS,
Beau Baron (1st) – DWT WHEELS,
Dustin Nelson (3rd) – DWT WHEELS & TIRES
Beau Baron grabs the WORCS Pro ATV class win at Round six of the WORCS series, held at Iron Mine Race Park in Cedar City, UT. This win makes two in a row for Beau Baron, stretching out his points lead over Josh Row who finished in second followed by Dustin Nelson.
Round six of the 2014 WORCS series was forced to acquire a new venue after the recent closure of Pala MX in Southern California. Thankfully Iron Mine Race Park in Cedar City, UT provided a perfect location with summer in full force in the southwest. Even with the high elevation of the track, the temperatures soared just under the triple digits by the time the racing got underway for Sunday’s Pro main events, but the slight breeze helped with visibility throughout the very fast course as the sun sucked out any water the WORCS crew doused the track with throughout the race. Adding to the excitement, Sunday’s Pro ATV Main would be combined with the Pro Bikes who would start just ahead of the ATV racers for the 105 minute long race.
The WORCS combined main events got underway just before 11:00am on Sunday morning, with the ATV’s starting after the motorcycles. Beau Baron was able to make several passes early on to put his Honda TRX 450R into the lead by the end of the first lap.
Once in the lead, Baron took advantage of clear track and began to gap the field before making a pit stop. Baron would run into trouble in the pits, when some confusion would cost him valuable time as he tried to figure out the route into the pits, allowing Josh Row to move into the number one spot.
“I passed (Josh) Row, and I was catching Robbie (Mitchell). When I got to Robbie, he made a bobble in the tighter corners, and I got by him and started to check out, then I got a little confused in the pit area. Once I got going, again Row was in the lead.” said Baron
With Baron leaving the pits in the number two spot, the battle was on for the lead. Baron would chase down Row, nearly making the pass before overshooting a corner and almost crashing, but Row pitted on the next lap, and Baron once again took over the lead, which he held to the checkered flag for his fourth win of the season and his second consecutive in a row. Baron’s win extended his points lead by three additional points to a total of 14 points now heading into the final three rounds of the season.
Josh Row was excited to see that Iron Mine Race Park track had a gate drop start and he took full advantage of the live engine start, by putting his Honda 450R near the front of the pack, heading into the off-road in the top three.
A few mistakes early would see Row losing a few spots, but he was able to put his head down, and move back up into the number two spot behind Beau Baron, and made the pass for the lead when Baron made a fuel stop, but Row dropped back into the second spot once again when he pitted for fuel the following lap.
Once in the pits, Row’s machine was showing signs of vapor lock, which slowed his pit stop down and allowing Dustin Nelson to move into the number two position. Row once again put his head down and put in solid laps, making the pass on Nelson to finish the race in second. While Baron was able to extend his points lead over Row with the win, the points chase is still very tight and Row his keeping the defending champion on his toes.
“I got a good jump out of the gate, and I knew that was going to be really important because it was so dusty. I had a couple people get by me, but once I started to settle into my groove and find my lines, I started picking everyone off,” said Row
Dustin Nelson rounded out the WORCS Pro ATV podium in third
Dustin Nelson wasn’t able to get a great start, but he pushed hard the first few laps and made his way up into the second spot. Late in the race Nelson, would fall back to third position due to blistering that made it tough to hold onto his Yamaha YFZ 450R. Nelson has seen plenty of ups and downs throughout the 2014 WORCS season, so he was happy with the third podium spot, which is only his second podium finish of the season.
“I didn’t get off to the greatest start, I think I was fourth off the line and I was bummed because I knew how dusty it was in the off-road, so I wanted to be out front, but It actually worked out better than I thought. On the second lap, I was able to get by Josh (Row) and Mitchell (Robbie) and get into second behind Beau (Baron). I tried to keep his pace, but he was just going to fast, and then I started blistering up, and I was struggling to hold on.” said Nelson
David Haagsma finished the day in fourth after suffering from mechanical issues, which kept his Honda TRX450 from pulling the top speeds needed during the multiple fast off-road sections. Haagsma was disappointed to be off the podium, but happy to salvage a fourth place.
COURTESY OF ATVRiders.com
