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Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich grabbed the holeshot on his Kawasaki KX™450F and checked out from the rest of the field at Honey Lake MX Park, earning his second WORCS win of the season. The finish moved Dietrich within one point of the leader in the championship standings as the series reached its halfway point. Teammate Justin Soulè made the short drive to his home track, finishing just off the podium in fourth. Motocross legend John Dowd made the trip out from Massachusetts to fill in for injured Destry Abbott, holding on for 10th in his first-ever WORCS race.
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Coming Back Strong
Dietrich’s second win came after a tough race in Adelanto, Calif. last month. He didn’t let a bad race get to him, and came out to lead from gate drop to checkered flag.
“You can’t think about the bad races,” said Dietrich. “When I was on the line, I tried to think about the good races like (Lake) Havasu. It seemed like I was able to do that. I got the holeshot and felt great the whole race. I made one little mistake in the waterfall section, which allowed (Mike) Brown to get a little closer, but by the end I had regained my 30 second lead.” |
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Points Battle Heats Up
The race at Honey Lake MX marked the halfway point in the WORCS series with five rounds to go. The season has already been a rollercoaster for Dietrich, but with upcoming rounds favoring his style, he’s excited to be right in the championship battle.
“I came in calling (predicting) the points lead, but I can only leave that up to fate,” said Dietrich. “I did what I needed to do today to help me get closer to the top of the points standings. It feels good to be right there. We are basically tied for points with only a one point difference. That’s right where I need to be. I am really confident about the next few races, so it should be good.” |
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Hometown Boy
Round 5 had friends and family of Soulè coming out in full force to cheer on the local boy. Soule got out to a good start and kept the intensity high as he worked his way into fourth with three laps to go.
“I had a lot of friends and family out here and I think in every section I had people cheering for me, which really helps me push it that much harder,” said Soulè. “I wish I would have done a little better today, but I can’t be too picky. Fourth is still decent and I just wanted to get out of here healthy. I have a big move to Southern California coming up, which is pretty stressful, but I can’t beat coming to my home track.” |
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Junk Yard Dog Does Off-Road
In his first-ever WORCS race, Dowd made an impressive showing on the difficult and demanding track in Northern California. Even though Dowd claimed he was out of race-shape, he rode smart and rounded out the top-10.
“I knew that I was not going to be able to push it the whole time,” said Dowd. “I haven’t had much time on the bike because it’s just coming into the time of the year where we can ride again back home. My goal was to ride smooth and just conserve. I don’t think I put in any really hard laps because I wanted to be able to go the whole race. I wanted to be in the top-10 so I guess I ended up with what I expected.” |
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Tricky Track
Each year, the track at Honey Lake MX provides a rocky and demanding two-hour race, but this weekend proved to be one of the most technical the riders have seen in several years.
“WORCS really seemed to step it up and create a challenging course,” said Dietrich. “There were three pro sections that were really good, which really separated the men from the boys. It made for a good pro track. I definitely enjoyed it.” |
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Pro 2 Boys
Pro 2 rider Ryan Abbatoye held on to the points lead despite a wrist injury holding him back from taking his fifth consecutive podium. He held on for 12th and still holds a 24-point lead over second. Teammate Corey Floyd grabbed the holeshot and eventually finished fourth.
“I wanted to quit several times during the race, but I kept pushing and got the points I needed to keep the points lead,” said Abbatoye. “My wrist was hurting pretty bad, but we now have just under a month until the next round for it to heal up.” |
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Traxxas Out In Full Force
The round in Milford, Calif. was the first of three rounds that Traxxas will be attending as a part of the Traxxas Triple Crown. The ‘series in a series’ will accumulate points from all 43 classes at the respective rounds and will be tallied up at the final round in Mesquite, Nev., with the top-points finishers earning a Traxxas Slash 4×4 RC car.
During the weekend in Milford, Calif., Traxxas built an RC track and held races on Saturday night for all those who wanted to participate. Traxxas, The Fastest Name In Radio Control®, will also be attending rounds at Glen Helen Raceway and Mesquite MX Park. |
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Headed To SoCal
For Round 6, the WORCS series heads to a new location on the circuit with a stop at Cahuilla Creek MX in Anza, Calif. The area is close to where Dietrich regularly trains, giving him the confidence needed to go after his third win.
“I don’t ride Cahuilla (MX) much, but I ride Rynoland a lot,” said Dietrich. “The terrain is very similar and I think I will be really comfortable with doing well there. I call Washington my home-town race, but the Cahuilla area is basically my second home for riding.” |
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Results
World Off Road Championship Series
Honey Lake MX Park – Milford, Calif. May 16, 2010 Pro Results Pro Standings |
