| 
2008 PIAA
/ WORCS 8 Hour Endurance Race Report
Speedworld Motocross - Surprize,
Arizona - January 12, 2008
|
WORCS / PIAA Race Links |
|
| |
|
Can-Am/Motowork's Josh Frederick & Brandon
Smith Win 8 Hour ATV Race on the Can-Am
DS450 |
Phoenix, AZ (1/13/2008)- For 2008,
organizers at PIAA and WORCS combined their efforts
and put on the first PIAA/WORCS 8-Hour Endurance
race. The event consisted of many team classes and
an ironman class for both ATV’s and UTV’s.
The event did not count for WORCS series points,
but most everyone agreed that it was good practice
and a lot of fun. Each ATV team was allowed one
quad per rider, but only one transponder, which
had to be shared amongst teammates.
There were a total of 39 ATV teams that signed
up to race, including 8 pro teams.
The Can-am/Motoworks team consisting of Josh
Frederick and new Can-Am teammate, Brandon Smith
showed up in the new Can-am/Motorworks race rig,
which was definitely top notch. All though Motorworks
is new to the WORCS series, it didn’t take
them long to show that they are a class act. As
the quads were getting ready to line up, pro class
privateer Tim Shelman could not get his quad started,
so while his teammate Ryan Piplic was out on the
track, the Motoworks crew took it upon themselves
to help Shelman wrench on his quad and get it
running. After only 1.5 hours into the race, Shelman’s
quad was up and running. Shelman and Piplic ended
up with an impressive 4th place even after a final
lap crash sustained by Shelman. “Levi Marana
and I were battling back and forth in the last
lap. I passed him in the motocross section of
the track and then he got by me in the off-road
section when I crashed in one of the sand wash
sections,” stated Shelman.
The track layout was similar to what is used for
the WORCS races. “It was a 6 or 7 mile long
course. There wasn’t anything too technical,
but the sand washes did get pretty rough towards
the end,” stated pro racer Mike Cafro. Cafro
and his teammate, Chad Prull, were doing an excellent
job of keeping pace with WORCS champion Josh Frederick
and his teammate Brandon Smith until about half
way through the race. “We were doing really
good until we got a rock stuck in the rotor and
ended up having to pit to get it out,” said
Cafro disappointedly. “We lost some time
on Josh and Chad when we had to stop and just
couldn’t catch back up.” Despite the
rock incident, Cafro and Prull had a good run,
and ended up in a respectable second place.
Can-Am/Motoworks pro Brandon Smith made an impressive
showing at his first WORCS event. Smith made some
blindingly fast lap times, along with Frederick,
which helped them finish 7 minutes ahead of their
nearest competition.
Racing in the darkness for part of the event
did present some unique challenges for some racers.
“The MX portion of the track was pretty
well lit, but the off-road section was completely
in the dark,” said Shelman. “We were
lucky and had a Baja type set up for our lights,
but some guys just had head lights which made
it kind of difficult for them to see when they
were coming up on some of the jumps and other
rough sections,” he concluded.
When the checkered flag was waved, Josh Frederick
and Brandon Smith claimed the top spot having
completed 39 laps in 8 hours 14minutes. The Temecula
Motorsports team consisting of Levi Marana, Mike
Cafro, and Chad Prull came in second with 39 laps
in 8 hour 21 minutes, while the team consisting
of Brandon Brown and Mike Machado took the final
place on the podium, completing 38 laps in 8 hours
and 24 minutes.
The official full results and lap times can be
seen on the WORCS web site along with information
on Round #1 of the WORCS points series which,
is scheduled for January 25-27 at Speedworld MX
in Phoenix, AZ.
www.ATV.WORCSRacing.com
ATVriders.com
Forum Discussion
|
