2016 WORCS ATV Racing Round #7 - Mesquite MX May 8, 2016 Mesquite, Nevada

In Pro Am, points leader Justin Waters won his second-straight race. Interestingly, Waters rode his backup quad in the race after finding engine issues prior to the race. Ricardo Gonzalez was second, followed by Travis Hanes.

WORCS Racing Pro-Am Podium (left to right) Ricardo Gonzalez (2nd), Justin Waters (1st), Travis Hanes (3rd)

“Unfortunately it was rough race at Sand Hollow so we were missing a few people,” said Waters, who had his own share of injuries this year, including lacerations to his mouth and around his eyes. “Ricardo rode really well, so I had to ride hard on my Yamaha to get the win. I had a small issue with my race quad and I didn’t want to chance the motor. So I rode the other quad and it felt really good. I didn’t really know my game plan going in, so I just ran with it and I pulled well.”

Justin Waters claimed his 2nd straight Pro-Am Win to extend his points lead to 41 points over Travis Hanes in second place

Gonzalez has been training hard and he’s getting better every round. His second-place finish marked his second consecutive podium.

Ricardo Gonzalez secured his 2nd straight Pro-am WORCS podium finish with a 2nd place finish at the Mesquite MX WORCS

“I’ve been working hard, training and riding, and I felt much better than I did at Sand Hollow,” said Gonzalez. “I got off to a solid start and just made some quick passes. I was behind Justin and tried to keep his pace.”

Hanes stalled at the start and started nearly three minutes behind the field. His recovery to third was nothing short of miraculous.

Travis Hanes rebounded from a last place start to claim the final spot on the WORCS Pro-Am Podium

“The gate dropped, I stalled the bike, decided to give them a three-minute head start and make a fun day out of it,” quipped Hanes. “I treated it like a long training session. I stayed smooth and rode from there. After my start, anything but a DNF would be fine, so to be in the box is great.”

Frontrunners Logan Huff, Brian Sirevaag and Kyle Fuller sat out this round due to injuries suffered at and since Sand Hollow. Fuller attempted to race on Saturday, but chose not to race due to his injuries.

“I decided I was going to pick a different line, flew off a dune into the face of another dune and that’s all I remember,” said Fuller of his crash in the last round. “I tore a hole in my esophagus and did something to my wrist. I tried racing yesterday, but after the first lap I knew I couldn’t do it. I’m going to the doctor when I get back and we’ll see where we are for Cedar City.”

The WORCS ATVs will join with the motorcycles and SXS fields for a full card of racing as the series heads to Iron Mine Race Park in Cedar City, UT May 27-29.

1 2 ::Page 3::