2005 WORCS, Payette Round 3 Pro/Pro-am Main Event

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The WORCS Pro and Pro-Am main event was scheduled to start at 11:00am. It had rain (heavily at times) during the night, and there were still some lingering rain showers when we arrived at the track. Luckily those cleared up quickly.

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After getting set up, I decided to walk through the Pro pits. Most of the racers were getting prepped for the main event.

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The first spot in pit row belonged to Doug Eichner and the Duncan Racing crew. I had talked with Doug earlier that morning and he appeared to be quite confident about the upcoming race and had his eye set on the #1 podium position.

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Next up was Josh Fredrick. Josh has been doing great this year, and was the points leader over Eichner after round #2 in Phoenix. Here’s Josh chatting with some fans before the race.

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“Open Pro” class points leader, Brandon Brown, was busy making sure everything was in working order for the Pro Main event. Brandon said he is very pleased with how the WORCS ATV series is going so far this year, and hopes for it’s continued success throughout the season.

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Soon it was time for the Pro and Pro-am racers to head to the gate.

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While at the gate, I caught up with pro racer and atvriders.com member, #61, Shawn Checketts (aka: National#6). Last year, Shawn was racing in the Production A class on a Yamaha Raptor and was unable to finish the 2004 series after an injury shortly before round #9. This year Shawn is on a Honda 450r and is currently holding the #5 position for series points in the Pro ATV class. (Way to go Shawn!)

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Pro racer, #130, Tim Shelman, made the trek over to Payette from Sumner, WA.
Last year Tim was riding a Yamaha Banshee, but has since upgraded to an '05 YFZ450.

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This is #12 Mark Holz, owner of Holz Racing, and Brandon Brown shortly before the start of the race.

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On Saturday, several of the racers approached me and said I should get photos of a particularly nasty part of the track for the Sunday event. So I decided to make my way over there and get set up for the first lap photos. This part of the track was indeed nasty. It was a natural gully that was steep and bumpy.

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As the race got under way, Doug Eichner was the first one going into this challenging section.

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Doug took it slow on his first lap and made it though the gully without incident.

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Here’s another shot of Eichner making his decent.

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Next through the gully was #130 Tim Shelman, #187 Robbie Mitchell, #2 Josh Frederick and #686 Levi Marana.

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Josh Frederick quickly made his way through the rest of the pack.

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Fredrick was trying to close the gap on Eichner as he raced toward pit row.

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After coming through the gully section, the track took a turn though the pit area.

(Photo by JOEX)

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Once through the pits, riders were greeted by a cliff jump.
Eichner took an easy approach to the cliff…

(Photo by JOEX)

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While Frederick took the fast way down.

(Photo by JOEX)

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Eichner made his way back up the other side of the cliff.
(Photo by JOEX)

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Josh made his way up, not far behind Doug.

(Photo by JOEX)

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While the Pros battled it out, the Pro-am racers began to make their way through.
In the lead was #95, Justin Waters.
Justin has claimed two first place Pro-am finishes this year.

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In second place was # 94 Zack Herrera.

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Behind Zack was # 65, Alex Archibald, from Roy, UT.

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Phil Dampier, from Quail Valley, CA is currently in 5th place for series points in the Pro-am class.

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As the race continued, the track started getting rough in spots.
Eichner looked like he was in a bit of trouble after coming over a step-up in the upper section of the track, but he managed to ride it out.
(Photo by JOEX)

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Pro rider #609, Joe Rarey (forum member Laptraffic) got kicked up a bit after reaching the top of one of the hill climbs.

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About half way through the race, Brandon Brown began having mechanical problems and was losing compression throughout the race. Brandon still managed to place 14th, which put him at 6th place overall for the series.

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Josh Frederick also had mechanical issues and finished in 17th place, giving him a 2nd place in series points.
(Photo by JOEX)

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Doug Eichner went on to claim 1st place, Which puts him in 3rd place for series points.
(Photo by JOEX)

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2nd place went to Levi Marana, who is the current series points leader.

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Sean Towle, from Vail, AZ took home the 3rd place plaque, giving him 4th place in series points.

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David Lindsay of Riverton, UT took 4th place.

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# 68, Mike Bender, finished in 5th place.

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Shawn Checkettes, #61, from Clinton, UT came in 6th place, putting him in 5th place for series points.

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#152, Evan Carrillo, finished in 7th place.

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#130, Tim Shelman placed 8th.

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9th place went to #4, Joey Aiello.
(Photo by JOEX)

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Rounding out the top 10 for the Pro class was #187, Robbie Mitchell.
(Photo by JOEX)

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Now for the Pro-Am race results....

In 1st place was #95 Justin Waters from Joseph, OR

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2nd place went to #94 Zack Herrera from Los Lunas, NM

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3rd place went to #123 Jonathan Garcia also from Los Lunas, NM

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#311 Justin Neel from North Ogden, UT took 4th place.

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#99 Kirk Schreier from Phoenix, AZ came in 5th.

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#65 Alex Archibald from Roy, UT secured the 6th place position

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#199 Zachary Grodski of Boulder City, NV came in 7th

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8th place went to #373 Kevin Kurtz of Thornton, CO.

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#191 Reed Petchnick of Kent, WA placed 9th.

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Finishing up the top 10 for the Pro-Am class was #93, Phil Dampier of Quail Valley, CA.

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Here are some additional photos from the Pro and Pro-am Sunday event.

Here's Doug Eichner making his way down to the MX portion of the track.

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Here's determined looking Josh Frederick, who was hot on Eichner's heels.

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Eichner with Frederick in close pursuit...