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

[Raptorchick]

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.

[Raptorchick]

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

[Raptorchick]

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.

[Raptorchick]

“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.

[Raptorchick]

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

[Raptorchick]

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!)

[Raptorchick]

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.