After a subpar Round 6, GPS Offroad Products WORCS racers rebounded to earn two podiums in the Pro Am class as well as a top five finish in the Pro Class this past weekend at Glen Helen Raceway.
WORCS officials made some significant changes to what racers have seen in the past at Glen Helen, including a redesigned WORCS cross section as well as a water jump with an optional chicken line. The water jump proved to be a big hit, at least with the spectators, and most riders had no difficulty staying dry.
Several GPS Offroad racers lined up to qualify on Saturday afternoon and fight for a spot in Sunday's main event. Production A leader David Flores, who had a rough weekend in Round 5 at Pala, took the holeshot but would drop to the back of the pack when his quad began acting up. After stopping and letting it sit, he was able to restart and charge back to finish in second place. Chandler Waxman, who has been somewhat under the radar this year, managed to make a first lap pass on Flores and lead the race all the way to the checkers, his first overall victory of the season.
For the first time this season, WORCS officials moved Sunday's ATV main event to the morning time slot, giving the Pros and Pro-Ams an opportunity to race in the cooler temperatures. It was a welcome change; however, it wasn't clearly stated that the race would be shortened from the usual 105 minutes to just 90 minutes, which affected some of the racers' pit strategies.
Pro racer Dillon Zimmerman has struggled adjusting to a new program this year but despite the trouble, there have been rays of sunlight amidst the chaos. By all measures his Goldspeed/JRI Shocks/Can-Am DS450 has been performing incredibly well apart from some bad luck, and he's proven he has the speed to run in the top.
In the Pro race, Zimmerman got hung up in the WORCS cross section on the first lap and would have to dismount and lift his quad over a log. On the second lap, while trying to pass his teammate Collins Webster in the same area, Zimmerman hooked a banner with his rear tire and came to a screeching halt. The banner was holding up both racers until someone cut it loose; however, a portion of the banner remained on Zimmerman's axle for the rest of the race.
Zimmerman was able to charge up to fourth place and was gaining ground on Dustin Nelson until pitting on Lap 7. The pit situation was somewhat confusing, as racers could use any one of several entrances but were required to pass through a log section regardless of which way they entered the pits. Zimmerman entered the pits through one of the first entry points and thus missed the log section and was forced to backtrack after getting fuel. As he did, Josh Row managed to sneak by and while he managed to gain some ground on the Yamaha rider, was unable to overtake him.
Not knowing that the race had been shortened to 90 minutes, Zimmerman's pit crew had him pit earlier than they would have had they known the race was shorter. Had they waited, Zimmerman would not have lost the position to Row and might have been able to overtake Nelson and finish on the podium. GPS Offroad's Collins Webster would finish behind him in seventh.
In the Pro-Am class, Flores again took the holeshot but a flat tire on the first lap left him hung up in the WORCS cross section and after pulling into the pits to change it, he again found himself in last place. The Glen Helen course was brutal on tires, probably more so than any round to date, giving those racers with Tireblocks a significant advantage.
Flores managed to pass back to eighth place by the end of Lap 2 and steadily pick off riders until catching the leader, Grant Mitchell, in the WORCS cross section on the last lap. Unfortunately, Flores lost a crank bearing in the final moments of the race and was forced to limp the quad to the finish line for second.
Behind Flores, Chandler Waxman's momentum from Saturday's race continued as he rode smartly and consistently. Aside from a small hang-up in the WORCS cross section, Waxman rode a clean race and earned his second third-place finish of the year for GPS Offroad and Sun F Tires.
In the amateur ranks, Alex Ortiz again dominatee each of the three youth classes he competed in. As an experiment to see how he might do on a bigger vehicle next year, he entered the Sport 15-29 B class aboard a Honda TRX450R. The added weight and horsepower seemed to suit him well as his lap times were a minimum of 30 seconds faster than anyone else in the class. Ortiz will likely be racing the bigger vehicle exclusively next year but will have to wait until he turns 16 to have a shot at qualifying for Sunday's main event.
While the timing issue in the Pro main was frustrating, GPS Offroad is happy with the performance of its amateur racers. "Dillon's been getting more consistent and we have a number of Pro-Am racers that are contenders for podium positions at every race," said GPS Offroad's Seth Fargher. "Seeing our tires and wheels on nearly every Pro Am podium this season tells us that people have faith in our products and that we are able to remain competitive at such a high level. For a young company like us, we're ecstatic about that."
