PIAA
/WORCS 8 Hour ATV Endurance Race
Speed World MX
January 10, 2009
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8 Hours
PIAA / WORCS ATV Endurance Race Report
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| PIAA
/ WORCS 8 Hour Pro ATV Racers launched off
the line for the start of the race that
lasted till just after Midnight
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Surprise, AZ - SpeedWorld MX Park
was the hosting facility for the second annual PIAA/WORCS
8 Hour endurance race where DATS Racing’s
Robbie Mitchell and John Shafe claimed the win in
the Pro ATV class while Can-Am’s GNCC Racers
Michael Swift, Cliff Beasley, and Bryan Buckhannon
made the trek to Arizona and took the Utility win.
This year the turn out for the PIAA/WORCS event
was down from last year due to the BITD season
opener that was held on the same day, which did
not conflict for last year’s race. Despite
the lower attendance, racers still had a great
time and many considered it a good way to get
ready for the first round of the 2009 WORC series,
which is scheduled to kick off January 23rd-25th.
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John
Shafe joins the DATS Kawasaki racing team
for 2009 on the KFX450R
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The PIAA/ WORCS 8 Hour was somewhat of a special
event for the DATS Kawasaki race team for more
than one reason. The team was running the #61
fir this event, in honor of their teammate, Dax
Snow, who suffered a shoulder injury and will
most likely be out for the entire 2009 WORCS season.
“It’s unfortunate that he can’t
be here racing with us, so we thought this would
be a good way to show that Dax is still a part
of the team,” said Robbie Mitchell. This
race also marked the debut of John Shafe on the
DATS Kawasaki team. Shafe, who had been riding
under Polaris/Eichner Racing for 2008, definitely
showed that he was a good addition to the DATS
team.
Although the DATS team got off to a slower start,
they quickly moved from 6th place in lap one to
an impressive 1st by the end of lap two but unfortunately
their lead would not last long as they fell back
to third place. However, the DATS team was not
about to give up without a fight and was able
to retake the lead in lap 11. Mitchell also recorded
the fastest lap time of the event in lap 26 with
a time of only 12 minutes and 21 seconds. The
teams speed and consistency allowed them to hold
their position all the way to the finish line
to take the win. “Everything went really
well for us. I was behind the Can-Am team out
there and then I found my rhythm and just went
for it,” said Mitchell, who had some impressive
results last season and could be a serious contender
for the WORCS podium this year.
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| After
nearly 8 Hours of racing, it was amazing
the the win came down to just a few seconds
with Robbie Mitchell holding off the Can-Am's
Josh Frederick to take the win for the DATS
/ Kawasaki ATV race team, and John Shafe
was amazed at how well the KFX450R held
up for the entire race. The pair took home
$1,000 from PIAA and $560 for the Pro Purse
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The Can-Am Motoworks team of Josh Frederick and
Dillon Zimmerman also got off to a slow start
and were only in 5th place at the end of the first
lap, but soon began working their way up and by
lap 4 had taken over the lead where they would
stay until lap 11. “The main reason we went
out there was to do some testing and get dialed
in for the first round of WORCS, but that went
out the window,” said Josh Frederick with
a chuckle. “We ended up getting into a race
with the DATS Kawasaki guys, but it went well.
We still have a little fine tuning to do, but
the bikes worked well and we had a good time,”
said the current WORCS 2x Pro ATV champ.
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Unlike
the Kawasaki DATS team, the Motoworks /
Can-Am team utilized the same DS450 for
the entire race, and in the final hours
of the race, Josh Frederick charged his
way to with in striking distance of Robbie
Mitchell on the final lap, but a spin-out
by Frederick, allowed Mitchell to take the
win, but the Can-Am team put in a great
race, which should make for an exciting
start to the regular season in less than
2 weeks back at Speedworld |
Although things went flawlessly for Frederick,
his teammate Dillon had a little issue with the
thumb throttle. “We were using Josh’s
bike which has a thumb throttle, and I’m
used to a twist, so I got a little tired from
that, but otherwise it went really well,”
said Zimmerman. Although the Can-Am Motoworks
team was gaining ground on the DATS Kawasaki team,
they were unable to catch them before crossing
the finish line and had to settle for a solid
second place.
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