San Clemente, CA (3/23/2017) –
Super ATV/King Shocks/Fuel Offroad’s Katie
Vernola finishes fourteenth on Saturday’s
race in the WORCS SXS Pro Class at The Crazy
Horse Campground in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Despite, Vernola’s worse finish of the season,
she is still eighth in the points championship.
The Lake Havasu round is one of the series
favorites for racers with the event held right
only the lake during Spring Break, which attracts
a huge crowd of fans and boaters out to watch
the race. Weekenders gather around on the
shoreline, and stand out in the water watching
the cars as they race along the edge of the
lake.
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| Super
ATV/King Shocks/ Fuel Offroad’s Katie
Vernola finished fourteenth on Saturday’s
race in the WORCS SXS Pro Class |
Because of the heavy rains earlier in the
year, Lake Havasu’s infamous “Lagoon Jump”
was a massive hurdle this weekend, compared
to past races. Instead of the drivers having
to hop across a couple foot gap, they were
forced to launch over at least fifteen to
twenty feet of water from the base of the
jump. Most drivers who attempted this jump
were landing on in the water causing their
vehicles to bog out. A few of the racers had
even wrecked from hitting the water. Vernola
opted out on the jump when making her practice
run through the course, but decided to hit
it on race day.
“In the practice run, I wanted going hit it
at least once, but I was told not to because
the ones who did attempt it, there were at
least five cars who got stuck on the front,
and one car flipped, which damaged the car
quite a bit. So, I decided not hit it on the
practice. The WORCS crew knew that some people
were landing halfway in the water, so they
made that jump better for us on race day,
which was good for all of us because I was
looking forward to jumping it. Race day I
hit it every lap except the last lap,” says
Vernola.
Being only her fourth time racing in the SXS
Pro Class, Vernola and her Polaris SXS car
had gotten off to a great start on race day,
however, after coming into an extremely crowded
first turn, a driver directly in front of
her had spun out, causing her to lose her
spot in the front pack.
“I had a pretty good start off the line, but
in that first turn we all kind of squished
up a bit and someone spun out in front of
me. I had to go into reverse, then go around,
and that placed me second to last going out
of the third turn, which was unfortunate,”
says Vernola. “But on that first lap, I hit
the Lagoon Jump and two people in front of
me didn’t, so I passed them right there and
then which allowed me to pick up a few spots.
I ended up running the first two laps in fifth
place.”
|
| Polaris'
Katie Vernola had gotten off to a great
start on race day, until a driver spun
out in front of her, causing her to
lose her spot at the front of the pack |
Unfortunately, Vernola’s luck on Havasu’s
course this year slipped from her grasp. After
hitting the Lagoon Jump on the first three
laps, Vernola’s car began to experience a
mechanical malfunction.
“On the third lap, I started to feel a knocking
and my speed began to drop from 60, 50, down
to my top speed being only 30. With this weekend’s
tough competition, I was getting passed up
one by one,” explains Vernola. “On that last
lap, I didn’t hit the Lagoon Jump because
I could feel my that my car was having some
mechanical errors in the rear. I barely made
it up the last few hills and with not knowing
what was wrong, and my speed continuously
dropping, I just babied it and made it to
the finish line in 14th, so unfortunately
it wasn’t my weekend.”
This weekend’s event was not Vernola’s best,
hands down. Because of her misfortunes, she
dropped to eighth in the points race, but
she refuses to let that bring her down.
“I gave it all I could in this third round.
I really tried to get at least top 5 this
weekend, but unfortunately, luck just wasn’t
on my side. This weekend’s finish tampered
with my points a bit that’s for sure, but
I had fun. It was one of my favorite courses,”
says Vernola. “You know, this is only my third
year racing, I’m in the top ten in pro racing.
So, looking at the big picture, overall I’m
pretty happy.”
Despite dealing with some issues, she was
still impressed with how well many of her
components held up to the brutal race conditions.
“Luckily my Fuel Off-road wheels and tires
held up, and we didn’t get any flats. All
my Super ATV parts held together, so I couldn’t
be happier. King shocks had my car dialed
in really well, and my K&N filter was
still super clean, even after going through
all that sand and muddy water.”
Vernola is confident in herself and her Polaris
RZR as she turns her focus to the next WORCS
competition, as the series heads to Las Vegas,
NV on March 31- April 2.
“I’m looking forward to it. I saw that it’s
only going to be a thirty-minute race, and
with it being an arena style type race, the
course is going to be a lot smaller than the
other WORCS courses,” Vernola expresses. “Knowing
that, I think it’s going to be fun for our
families and friends to come out and watch.
Now we just need to get my car put back together
and clear out all that dirty mud and sand.”
2017 Katie Vernola
Racing Sponsors:
Polaris Industries, Super ATV, Fuel Off Road,
Got Sand Performance, KING, Addict Racing,
BAJA Designs, K&N, P.C.I, Fuel Safe, Miller
Sign Corp, Cryo Heat, XTC Power Products,
K1 RaceGear, Maverick Powder Coat
