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View Full Version : 2005 WORCS Round #1 - Speedworld MX Park



Admin
01-24-2005, 06:14 AM
The 2005 WORCS Series starts an exciting new era of WORCS ATV Racing. For years the ATVs have shared the same weekend as the Motorycles, but this all changed for 2005. The WORCS Series has now split the Motorycles and ATVs into two seperate series, which is big step forward for the ATV Industry.

No longer will the ATVs be overshadowed by the Motorycles and have to race on a course rutted up by around 1,000 motorcycles racing the track before them.

The key to the ATV substaining their own series is rider participation. If we as riders want to see our sport grow and gain a spot light with must join together and support the ATV racing by either racing the events or just showing up to show your support for the racers represtenting our passion ATVs.

This sport has come a long way over the past couple of years, but we will need to show that we are a larger market than the motorcyle and show up at the races, and the WORCS race series would be an excellent choice.

Admin
01-24-2005, 06:20 AM
Rocky Mountain ATV is the title sponsor for the 1st every ATV series and will be giving a 10% discount to all WORCS riders that purchase Rocky Mountain ATV House products.

Also, Rocky Mountain ATV will be giving away Brand New Yamaha YFZ450 Limited Edition to the 4 Stroke Stock A Class Champion at the end of the season.

Rocky Mountain gave Mike Bender a YFZ450 in 2004 for winning the Production A Championship.

Admin
01-24-2005, 08:25 AM
Also, Jet Shed Polaris will also be donating a 2005 Polaris Predator to the Production A National Champion.

Admin
01-24-2005, 08:34 AM
In addition to the two class Champions receiving ATVs, members of the WORCS Series recevie discounts from over 10 companies no matter how they finish a race.

Discounts for Members:
Rekluse Automatic Clutches 20%, Iron Man Sprockets 20%, Pro Design 10%,Number Technologies 15%,DH Racing Products, 15%, Zip Ty Racing 15%,Hoy-Fox Toyota 10-20% off Parts,Terry Cable 25%, and Scott USA & GPR Stablizers are also offering special deals as well.

Inaddition, riders are eligible for some impressive contigency prizes for finish near the front from many companies.

check out www.worcsracing.com for a complete list of contigency programs.

Admin
01-24-2005, 08:36 AM
The Opening round of the Series was held in Surprize, AZ at the Speedworld Raceway which is less than 30 minutes from downtown Phoenix, AZ.

Admin
01-24-2005, 09:05 AM
The location is in the valley and surrounded by mountains. From erosion over the years there are some evaluation changes created from deep washes that provided a nice change of scenery.

Admin
01-24-2005, 09:08 AM
A view from one of the washes on the track.

Admin
01-24-2005, 09:18 AM
The track was open for practice on Friday, so the riders could get a feel for the 5 mile track. Riders lined up early for registration, and the lines moved along. Each rider was given three numbers to place on them and the machine, plus they also received a transponder which was used from recording the laps and track times.

Admin
02-09-2005, 01:26 PM
After registation, I walked around the extensive pit area and was pleased to see many familiar faces, and meet some ATVriders.com members for the 1st time.

Corry Colaw (400Grl) was the 1st person that I ran into and for obvious reasons, since I plan to hang out in her pit area with Jason Weller for the weekend.

Corry was really excited to give WORCS racing a try.

Admin
02-09-2005, 01:29 PM
I also ran into, long time member, Joe Rarey (LapTraffic). Joe made the long trip from Washington State to compete in the Opending round of the series on his Cannondale/ATK.

Admin
02-09-2005, 01:44 PM
I also ran into this group of Z400 fans that were out for a weekend of fun. Douggie Swanson, 2nd from the left, made the trip to Arizona from Alaska :eek: to race for the 1st time and ride in the dunes during a three week vacation from the cold temps up north.

The coolest part of the story is that he shipped his Z400 in his luggage to Arizona, which only cost him an extra $50.00 because of the weight, but of course,. he had to disassemble it and reassemble it once he arrived.

On the other hand, Jeff Taylor, far left, traveled less than 10 miles to the track because it was in hometown.

(left to Right)
Jeff Taylor, Douggie Swason, Marshal (Zhvonte), John Baj

Admin
02-09-2005, 01:49 PM
I showed up to the race with everything that I need to race expect an ATV, which was one very important item to leave at home. I just wasn't as clever as Douggie to pack one in my luggage.

Luckily, Jeff Taylor, was happy to lend me his Z400 to compete on Sunday after he raced in the C Class on Saturday, which provided me the oppurtunity to experience racing in the WORCS series first hand.

Admin
02-09-2005, 01:52 PM
I then headed over to the pro pits, and checked out Temecula Motorsports. The team Manager & Pro Racer, Mike Cafro, introduced me to each rider, and it was a pleasure talking with them.

(left to right)
#686 Levi Marana
#2 Josh Frederick
#222 Cyle Chislock
#5 Mike Cafro
#56 Wade Wyman

Admin
02-09-2005, 01:57 PM
Ofcourse, I stopped by to see ATV legend, Doug Eichner, at the Duncan Racing Pits. Doug has been involved in ATV Racing almost as long as I can remember, and even in his 40's he still can display the #1 Pro Plate, which is incredible.

It is actually amazing the amount of riders there were over the age of 35 this year that won Pro Championships in ATV or Motorcyles, which shows that age isn't always a bad thing because it comes with experience.

Admin
02-09-2005, 02:00 PM
I took some time looking over Doug's 450R and I really liked the way he came up with gusseting the frame where the tubing is welded to the cast piece, which is a common spot for breakage on the 450R.

His Gusset helps spread the ride stress over all three components, and I thought it was an excellent design.

Admin
02-09-2005, 02:06 PM
I also found #167 Sean Towle and #59 Bobby D. Taylor on Pro Row.

Admin
02-09-2005, 02:13 PM
Ryan Q. Piplic made the long trip from Washington to race in all three of the Pro Classes. He signed up to race his W-tech in the Open Pro Class, and raced his Yamaha YFZ450 in the Pro Production and Pro Class

The W-Tec was the same machine that was on display at the Indy Show last February.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:25 AM
Mark Holz, Holz Racing, completely redesigned the rear linkage system for the LTZ400, and I have heard nothing but great things about it, and I hope to get a chance to test one in the future.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:27 AM
If you don't want to spend the money on an Exhaust System, then this might be your best alternative, which is a modified stock exhaust by Weller Racing.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:28 AM
Unlike back East, the laws in Arizona don't prevent people from lifting their vehicles and lifted trucks like this one was the norm.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:29 AM
It seems like if it has four wheels out west most likely a lift kit has been installed.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:32 AM
After checking out the pits, it was time to check out the 5 mile long track.

The start of the race had the riders going through a small section of the mx course.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:38 AM
Before the riders headed into the desert portion of the track, they were faced with some mean whoops that dismounted a few riders during the race.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:44 AM
The track in the back was fairly wide and two quads could just barely ride side by side in many sections of the track, but it would narrow down at times to just about 5 feet wide. There were never any spots along the way that you had to worry about getting stuck like in a GNCC race.

The track had plenty of wide open sections that you allowed you to hit 5th gear with ease, but the tracks was more like a paved road with pot holes and natural whoops everywhere, so you had to keep the speeds undercontrol.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:45 AM
Another view of some of the high speed sections.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:48 AM
Track Designer, Sean Reddish, utilized the washes to provide some natural obsticles with some small climbs and rugged riding to mix it up some.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:48 AM
a view of the track coming up out of the wash on to the desert flats.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:51 AM
Finally, after racing through almost 4 miles through the desert, the riders reappeared and were faced with the the rest of the MX track to complete the lap.

The MX track didn't contain any double jumps, but it had plenty of step downs, drop offs, and table tops.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:53 AM
Before any racing action began, the medical helicopter landed to be on stand by in case of an emergency.

Admin
02-10-2005, 06:57 AM
Pro Main Event

With the Pro Riders staging on the starting gate, Sean Reddish talks with one of the track officials before mounting his motorcycle to monitor the racing action once the race begins.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:00 AM
#1 Doug Eichner lined up on the starting gate with his Duncan 450R.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:01 AM
Jason Weller & Corry on the Starting Gate.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:05 AM
#73 Lance Hallworth on the W-Tech machine.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:06 AM
The Starting gate was full with over 25 rides signed up for the Pro Main Event.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:08 AM
Just like a GNC Pro MX Event, the riders were sent off one by one to get one final look at the track before heading back to the starting gate.

#167 Sean Towle

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:09 AM
#609 Joe Rarey (laptraffic) heading out for his practice lap with #20 Greg Kirk following him.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:11 AM
The riders returned to the gate, for the start of the Pro Main Event.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:13 AM
The Course marshalls waited on top of a table top for the race to begin.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:21 AM
A large crowd of fans gathered around the starting area for the start of the race.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:46 AM
The Start of the race had Doug Eichner taking a quad length lead half way down the straight away with Josh Frederick and Brandon Brown right behind him looking to make the pass before the 1st turn.

On the Right side, Cyle Chislock wasn't able to move over as the track narrowed and was sent into a mound of dirt.

Admin
02-10-2005, 07:52 AM
Doug Eichner pitched his quad into the turn and secured the Holeshot with Josh Frederick following in 2nd Place.

Brandon Brown seemed to have tried to sneak by on the inside, but cut the corner too early and had to let off the gas which caused #187 Robbie Mitchell to lock it up.

Admin
02-10-2005, 08:07 AM
Mitch collided into Brown and was ejected off his machine, and Brown was catapulted out of control across the track.

Admin
02-10-2005, 08:09 AM
The racers scattered to avoid brown and mitchell

Admin
02-10-2005, 08:13 AM
Luckily, neither rider was injuried in the collision, and Robbie Mitchell got up and rushed over to upright his Z400 to get back into the race.

#167 Sean Towle stalled his Honda trying to avoid running over Robbie and was busy try to kick start his machine.

Admin
02-10-2005, 08:14 AM
#222 Cyle Chislock was also going again after his early run in with the mound of dirt and #167 Sean Towle finally had his Honda fired up and ready to go.

Admin
02-10-2005, 08:19 AM
#75 Brandon Brown, avoided coming off his machine, but stalled his 450R and had to restart it and lose more valuable time.

Admin
02-10-2005, 08:28 AM
As the riders came back around past the fans, Doug Eichner had already developed a nice cushion between him and 2nd place Josh Frederick.

Postions:
1. Doug Eichner
2. Josh Frederick
3. Shawn Checketts
4. Ryan Piplic
5. Lance Hallworth
6. Levi Marana
7. Jason Weller

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:06 PM
With the race underway, Sean Reddish was off on his Utility to sweep the track looking for anyone in need of assistance.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:08 PM
The 1st rider to appear from the back section of the track was #1 Doug Eichner.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:10 PM
Just over 10 seconds back was Temecula Motorsports,Josh Frederick.

From this photo you can tell he is running tireballs by the buldges in the tire:cool:

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:12 PM
over 30 seconds later, Shawn Checketts came through in 3rd Place.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:14 PM
#97 Ryan Piplic was only a few seconds behind Levi Marana in 4th.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:16 PM
#210 Jason Weller moved up to 5th place before the end after passing Ryan Piplic.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:18 PM
#73 Lance Hallworth held down the 9th spot behind #163 Mike Bender and #88 Joshua Edwards.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:21 PM
#75 Brandon Brown was charging hard as he made his pass on Charging pass #14 Eric Hanna and moved up to 18th place, and by the end of the 1st lap, Brandon had picked up 9 positions off the start and was up to 15th place.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:29 PM
By the 3rd lap, Doug Eichner extended his lead to almost 30 seconds over #2 Josh Fredericks and they both pulled away from the rest of the pack.

The real battle was for the third sport with #61 Shawn Checketts and #686 Levi Marana as they rode almost bumper to bumper the 1st three laps with Shawn maintaining the lead.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:32 PM
#88 Joshua Edwards moved up to 5th place after Mike Bender, Ryan Piplic, and Jason Weller.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:37 PM
Jason Weller was back to 7th place early in the third lap with #167 Sean Towle closing in from behind. Sean would go on to make the pass and move into 7th behind #163 Mike Bender.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:40 PM
By the 5th lap, Doug Eichner stretched his lead to barely over 30 seconds over Josh Fredericks

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:42 PM
Josh continued pushing hard to keep Doug from developing too large of a lead, so he still would have a chance to catch him before the end of the race.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:48 PM
Shawn Checketts continued to hold off the advances of Levi Marana as they pulled away from Cyle Chislock in 5th Place.

The real story was the incredible charge through the pack of #75 Brandon Brown as he worked he picked up seven more positions and moved into 8th place by the end of the 5th lap.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:49 PM
After a slow start, #5 Mike Cafro finally moved into the top 10 after passing Ryan Piplic.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:50 PM
#20 Greg Kirk wasn't upfront with the leaders, but he still looked to be having a good time.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:53 PM
By the 7th lap, Doug Eichner remained in the lead, but started to slow down by a few seconds each lap.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:55 PM
Meanwhile, Josh Frederick started picking up his speed and pulled one of his fastest lap times and pulled to within 16 seconds of Doug Eichner with two laps to go.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:57 PM
Shawn Checketts remained in 3rd place and pulled over a 15 second lead over 4th place rider, Levi Marana.

Admin
03-09-2005, 12:59 PM
Sean Towle moved up to 5th place after Cyle Chislock ran into problems on the 6th lap that dropped him back to 21st place :(

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:02 PM
As the race continued, the riders were forced to pit for gas to complete the race, so spectators and pit members climb ontop of their campers for a bird eye view of the race and watch for their riders heading into the pits.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:03 PM
#1 Doug Eichner continued to lead after he pitted for fuel and headed back out on the track.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:04 PM
Josh Fredericks pitted for fuel earlier and stayed on the gas as he passed by the Temcula pits trying to reel in Eichner.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:05 PM
#75 Brandon Brown worked his way up to 5th place by the time he headed into the pits for fuel.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:07 PM
#5 Mike Cafro picks up two more spots as he moves up to 8th place behind Mike Bender

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:08 PM
Wade Wyman pulls into his pits for a drink

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:09 PM
Joe Rarey started the Pro race on his Cannondale, but blew the engine before he could complete one lap, so he became a spectator for the rest of the race, but kept his spirits high as he gave me a thumbs up.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:12 PM
A concerned, Lenny Duncan, looks on at the track looking for Doug Eichner as he realized that Doug's pit stop didn't go as planned. The quickfill never released the fuel into doug's machine, so he was hoping it would last one more lap.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:15 PM
Even before Doug was able to exit the motorcross portion the the track, his 450R began to sputter, so Doug started looking down to see what was wrong with his machine. Little did he realize at first that he had ran out of fuel :(

Eichner received fuel while out on the track and not at his pits and ended up being docked two laps for the infraction and dropped him out of the lead.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:16 PM
This gave the lead and the win to #2 Josh Fredericks as he celebrated his victory.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:18 PM
On the last lap, Levi Marana was able to close the gap once again on Shawn and make the pass to finish in 2nd Place.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:20 PM
Shawn Checketts to the checkered flag with a 3rd place finish after a terrific battle with Levi the majority of the race.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:21 PM
Almost three minutes later, Sean Towle came through with a 4th place finish.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:23 PM
Brandon Brown ran the 3rd fastest last lap and moved to within 12 seconds of Sean by the end of the race to finish in 5th place

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:24 PM
Mike Cafro finished in 8th place behind Joshue Edwards and Mike Bender.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:25 PM
Ryan Piplic finished 9th right behind Mike Cafro

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:26 PM
#56 Wade Wyman heading to the finish line.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:27 PM
A disappointed Doug Eichner crosses the finish line with an 18th place finish, which wasn't the way he invisioned his season to start.

Admin
03-09-2005, 01:27 PM
Cyle Chislock finishing the race.

Admin
03-10-2005, 05:44 AM
The remainder of the classes and photos will be posted in a photo gallery next week.

WhiteBros400ex
03-13-2005, 07:06 PM
Looking good:D really nice pics

that v tech looks weird but cool at the same time:macho

Mxjunkie
03-16-2005, 11:50 AM
Awesome coverage and pictures, theres some sick quads out there! that sucks for doug :(

WORCSYFZ199
04-09-2005, 02:15 AM
Originally posted by Admin
The remainder of the classes and photos will be posted in a photo gallery next week.


Its been a long time, and I still don't see any of the amature photos :ermm:

400grl
04-09-2005, 09:12 AM
I"ve been checking all the time, too - haven't seen any more pics?

WORCSYFZ199
07-14-2005, 10:57 PM
Harlen are you ever gonna post the amatuer galleries for the WORCS in Phoenix????

Admin
07-15-2005, 08:19 AM
Originally posted by WORCSYFZ199
Harlen are you ever gonna post the amatuer galleries for the WORCS in Phoenix????

Good Point, I actually forgot, but I will add it to my list

400grl
07-15-2005, 01:33 PM
I check the galleries every couple of weeks still to see if they are up yet....will be cool to see them!! :)

KoyukKFX
08-02-2005, 01:54 AM
Wow!
Thank you so much Harlen!
I am very pleased to be able to thank you personally.

I am proud to tell my family and friends the owner of this site sat with me and others for what seemed like an hour or so....

That gallery you put up was great! It brings me back to that weekend vividly.

Ride on, Brother!

Douggie Swanson