2021 Utah WORCS

2021 Utah WORCS Report — 

As the 2021 season closes in on the Fall run-in, the schedule is beginning to pick up steam. The WORCS series took the trek to Cedar City, UT for the sixth round of the year. The Three Peaks Oasis was a brand new location to the grand prix circuit. As the facility was comprised of completely virgin terrain, the promoters cut in an entire track for the weekend’s event. The result was a five-plus mile racecourse with something on the order of 200 turns that wound through the surrounding trees. Most riders seemed to enjoy the flow of the course. However, the faster flow of the corners meant overtaking was difficult. As always, the start would prove important for each of the weekend’s events.

Clay Hengeveld – 5th place Pro 250

The start of the two-hour pro race was dead-engine style. As the green flag signaled the race to start, Clay’s KX250X fired instantly. Unfortunately, a minor miss-shift set Clay back as the riders began accelerating up the start straight. As a result, Hengeveld was mired back around eighth through the first turn. Quickly, Clay was able to make some moves forward and came through the first lap in sixth, right on the back wheel of the top five riders.

Through the first few circuits of the course, Henge was right there, pacing with the top-five. As the race progressed, though, a few minor mistakes saw Clay lose the tow of the riders ahead. From there, the KX250X rider found himself in no-man’s land, with a gap in front and behind. He kept a solid pace, and was able to pick up a position after the pit stops, which put him in fifth place. As the checkers came out, Hengeveld was able to take his first top-five finish of the WORCS season, a solid marker to build off of.

Robby Bell – 1st place Vet Pro

For the Vet Pro race, the start would be live-engine to a green flag wave. As the race began, Bell’s KX450X rocketed off the line and he was able to control the first turn. Yamaha-mounted Justin Seeds tried to cut underneath Robby to overtake him down the second straightaway, but Bell’s Kawasaki was able to match the acceleration and the Team Green rider maintained control of the race. From there, Robby put down an intense pace that the field couldn’t match. Through the first two laps, the KX rider had pulled out over a minute lead on his competitors. As the race carried on, Bell continued to pull time, amassing over two-and-a-half minutes at the checkers. This win vaulted Robby into the points lead over close rival Seeds.

Robby Bell, Team Manager

“It was a solid weekend for the team. Though I know it’s still not where Clay wants to be, a top-five finish was a solid way to back up his performance at Idaho [NGPC]. Clay’s been putting in a lot of work to close that gap on the riders just ahead of him. He was just a slight tick off this weekend, but showed the progress he’s made. So, hopefully he can continue that trajectory and land on the podium soon.

“I had a great time out there in the Vet race. The course was ideal, and it’s always a blast racing with Justin and Mark [Samuels]. I was just getting over a chest cold coming into the weekend, so I wasn’t sure how I’d hold up. As good as I felt in the beginning of the race, I kept expecting to throw the anchor out and start fading. The anchor never dropped though, so I was stoked on that!”

Photos

Credit: Dirt Nation Magazine

Clay Hengeveld

Robby Bell

Results

Click the link to view results:

• Pro 250 Race Results
• Vet Pro Race Results

Standings
• Pro 450 Championship Standings
• Pro 250 Championship Standings
• Vet Pro Championship Standings

View more results by clicking here to visit the WORCS scoring site.

2021 WORCS Schedule

1. Jan 23-24 – Lake Havasu, AZ
2. Feb. 20-21 – Peoria, AZ
3. Mar. 27-28 – Lake Havasu, AZ
4. Apr. 17-18 – Taft, CA
5. Jun. 12-13 – Preston, ID
6. Sep. 11-12 – Cedar City, UT
7/8. Sep. 25-26 – Devore, CA (Double Round)
9. Oct. 23-24 – Mesquite, NV
10. Nov. 20-21 – Primm, NV

Team Supporters

Click Here to view and learn more about the companies our race team partners with.

Click Here to view Race Team Catalog and learn more about the parts we use to build our rider’s race bikes.