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By: Ray Larez
2006 WORCS Racing Series, Round 1 Results
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The 2006 WORCS Racing Series was kicked off
in AZ., but instead of the Lake Havasu track
being the opening round, it was held at
Phoenix’s Speedworld Raceway. The Lake Havasu
event will be held in the third round in March.
There was an increase in the overall turn out
for ATVs, 20% up over last year as stated by
Sean the promoter. There were 427 total entries
and 210 racers that turned out for the event.
The track layout was great; it was a large grand
prix layout. It had the perfect mix of motocross
and desert sections. On hand at the track were a
few vendors to assist the racers with
maintenance and repairs. Maxxis Tire’s own Mike
Farmer was there aiding the riders with mounting
tires and repairs. Maxxis will be attending all
WORCS Races to help out their racers, as the
guys from Rekluse Clutch Components will be
there to help replace clutches and make some
minor clutch repairs. Both companies are
sponsors of the event and it was great to have
them on hand to help everyone.
Since this was the first round of the season
everyone was out for the win. The Pro Production
Class proved to be a great race one of the best
of the day. Nick Hengtgen would grab the lead
through the first turn and take home the
holeshot award from Hiper Wheels (One hundred
dollars cash). This year’s great turn out came
with some great pro racers. Like Josh Frederick,
Mike Cafro, Doug Eichner, and the younger up and
coming rider Logan Holiday. Doug Eichner passed
Nick and lead for most of the race. Then Josh
Frederick chased down Eichner passed him for the
overall win. Eichner finished second and Holiday
rounded out the top three. The three podium
spots where all held by Honda riders.
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Josh Fredrick had just started one really
long day. He had entered four classes and would
have to race three in one day. He jumped off his
Honda TRX450R after finishing the Pro Production
with the win. He then mounted a Bombardier
Outlander 800 to race the utility class right
after he just finished racing the hour-long
race. He didn’t even have time to change his
muddy gear let alone rinse off his chest
protector. I doubt he even had a chance to catch
his breath. Frederick did manage to get himself
a new set of goggles and gloves. The Bombardier
Factory backed Frederick raced the stock machine
and took the overall win in the utility class.
Yet his weekend was not over, he still had the
two other classes to compete in. Frederick is
campaigning the Score and Best in the Desert
Race Series as well as the WORCS series, along
with his teammate Greg Row.
Later that day in the Open Pro class the hole
shot cash was be snagged by none other than
Duncan Racing’s own Doug Eichner (2005 Open Pro
Champion). He went on to lead the rest of the
race and take home the overall win. Last year’s
Pro Production Champ Josh Frederick had some
problems with a bad start. Brandon Brown (2005
Open Pro Champion) was second to the first turn
and would finish just behind Eichner, followed
by Temecula Motorsport’s Mike Cafro. One unique
item we had noticed was that the Duncan Race
Team was outfitted with the new Fox Evolution
Front Suspension. The last we heard these shock
absorbers were not available to the public but
are being released very soon. Not only will Team
Duncan be running the Fox setup, so will Team
Factory Suzuki.
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ATV Pro Class was run on Sunday the following
day and gave the racers a short break. There
were many racers that ran more than one class,
but nobody would race more classes than
Frederick. He ran a total of four separate
classes and won three of the four. Frederick
looks like the force to be reckoned with this
season. As the Pro Class left the gate and
rocked down the straightaway, into the first
turn, Logan Holiday snagged the holeshot award
and earned himself $100.00 Logan held onto this
lead for half the race only to be passed by
Frederick. This Pro race would be an hour and a
half long instead of the normal sixty-minute
race. Just like in Nascar racing, pit strategy
would play a part in this race. This meant they
would have to pit for fuel Eichner definitely
kept the pressure on Holiday, trying to pass him
every chance he could. Immediately after reeling
him in, Doug then decided to pit early for a
splash of fuel.
This proved to be a good strategy for the
Duncan Team. Doug would later catch and pass
Holiday after he pitted for fresh goggles and
fuel. Doug Eichner was now stalking Josh
Frederick with a commanding lead over the field.
Doug turned faster lap times and began to close
the gap to a mere 5.3 seconds by the finish of
the race. Frederick took the overall win,
Eichner finished second, and Holiday rounded out
the top three. Again, the podium was filled with
Honda riders; this may be some sort of pattern
forming.
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There were a few rule changes for 2006 that
were very minor. First they changed the point
schedule. Amateur racers will count 7 of the 9
races with 2 throw aways, and must attend 5
total races to qualify for the Championship. All
Pros and Pro Am racers will count all rounds in
the series no throw aways. Then all racers that
travel the series and attend all rounds will
earn a 5 point bonus for rounds 8 & 9 next year.
There were also some rules changed about sound
testing the vehicle. All 450 four strokes will
be rated at 4500 rpm and two strokes will be
rated at between 3500 rpm and 4000 rpm. This is
mandatory for all Pro and Semi-Pro Riders. Tests
will be done prior to each round and after the
event. All other classes will be tested at
random by the officials.
The next round of the WORCS series will be
held in Taft, California at the Honolulu Hills
Raceway.
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