Shock Doctor/KTM rider Kurt Caselli took a commanding win at the ninth round of the
WORCS Series at Glen Helen Motocross Park this weekend.
KTM's Kurt Caselli currently sits in 15th in the points race, but took the win at Glen Helen.
This marks the second WORCS race Caselli has competed in this season and his second podium finish. Caselli has spent his full season racing on the east coast in the highly competitive
GNCC Series. Fresh off a podium finish at the Unadilla GNCC in New York last weekend, Caselli was determined to finish well near his hometown at Glen Helen.
Caselli started second off the start with fellow Shock Doctor/
KTM riders Mike Brown in 5th and Justin Soulè within the top ten. Part way into the first lap the riders entered into a tight single track down in the canyon where a rider went down and caused a large bottleneck that separated the field. Fortunately, all three Shock Doctor/KTM riders passed through the section before the issue began.
Near the halfway point, Caselli took a quick gas stop and was able to take over the lead upon reentering the track. From that point on, Caselli led the race and never looked back. Brown soon moved into 3rd, quickly closing in on the 2nd place rider. Soulè and RPM/KTM rider Brendan Ritzman were in the hunt for the final podium position throughout the majority of the race.
Caselli, 2007 WORCS Champion, crossed the finish line in 1st, followed by Brown in 2nd. Ritzman and Soulè finished 4th and 5th respectively. With only one round to go, Brown now holds a 13 point lead over Ricky Dietrich in the championship title chase.
“It feels really good to win a race. It has been a long time coming this year. I was on a bone stock KTM 450 and that really shows a lot for our bikes. KTM’s truly are “Ready to Race,” commented Caselli.
Next Event: Round 10 – Mesquite, NV – October 23-25, 2009
Overall Results Pro Class:
1) Kurt Caselli – KTM
2) Mike Brown – KTM
3) Tim Weigand
4) Brenden Ritzman – KTM
5) Justin Soulè – KTM
6) Taylor Robert
7) Bobby Garrison
8) Destry Abbott
9) Damon Huffman
10) Joshua Strang
Overall Point Standings Pro Class:
1) Mike Brown – 191
2) Ricky Dietrich – 178
3) Justin Soulè – 142
4) Tim Weigand – 136
5) Bobby Bonds – 129
Courtesy of Kawasaki
Monster Energy Kawasaki's Destry Abbott finished eighth at Geln Helen WORCS despite the heat.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Destry Abbott and Damon Huffman pushed hard all the way to the end to finish eighth and ninth at the penultimate round of the WORCS series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, Calif. Teammate Ricky Dietrich rode over half the race, but did not finish. Dealer assist rider Taylor Robert finished an impressive sixth after his fair share of bad luck. Team Green riders Corey Floyd and Ryan Abbatoye were not far behind, finishing first and third, respectively, in the Pro 2 class. The Pro 2 championship will go down to the last race with Abbatoye leading Floyd by three points.
After a good start, Abbott pushed his way through the pack despite feeling dehydrated. Even with a few get offs, Abbott managed to make it up to eighth.
“I think I went into the off-road section the first time about 10th so it wasn’t too bad of a start,” said Abbott. “When we went into the notorious bottleneck, I think I was about fifth. The top five or six guys were gone. I made passes and tried to keep moving forward. I started to get dehydrated and made a few mistakes. My goal is to get out of here safe for the Hare and Hound race next weekend. That championship is my main goal and I want to stay healthy.”
Like Abbott, Huffman got a good start about mid-pack and was pushing his way up. After getting stuck in a bottleneck with everyone else on the first lap, Huffman came from 19th on the first lap to ninth at the checkered, which wasn’t an easy task with everyone being spaced out.
Damon Huffman, Monster Energy Kawasaki, fought a fierce fight from 19th to ninth by the checkers.
“The race started off alright,” said Huffman. “When we came around to the ravine, I was basically stuck there for over a minute. Finally when I came out, all the Pro 2 riders were right with us. From that point on, I was happy with the way I rode. I never got passed and kept moving forward the whole time. It’s a bummer because I felt great on this hot day and thought I could have been up there with the top finishers.”
Dietrich came into the race not fully recovered from a foot injury he sustained at the Oklahoma EnduroCross, but he was feeling good enough after practice on Saturday to go out and give it his best. At the start Dietrich was squeezed out and rounded the first turn just outside the top-10. After being bumped around and going down, Dietrich tried to push it but was in too much pain to continue.
“I was coming into this race very enthusiastic,” said Dietrich. “I was looking forward to putting my foot thing behind me. I got stuck in the ravine with the rest of the group and got held up quite a bit. I’m not really happy how that all went down. Now I’m just going to focus on ISDE and hopefully come back and finish out the last race with a win. It might not be for a championship, but I want to go out and show that I’m the fastest guy out on the track.”
The race threw everything at Robert, but he came out with his head high knowing he rode the best race he could. With a crash and two flat tires, Robert didn’t let that stop him and made an impressive run to finish sixth on the day.
“I crashed on the first lap and was about 10th when I finally came around for the second lap,” said Robert. “I made my way up to fifth then got a flat. I went back out on a new tire and it went flat again. After I came back in the second time I was about 10th and was able to get a few guys before the finish. The heat didn’t affect me at all since I’m from Arizona and I think that probably helped me.”
Pro 2 Battle
With only one race left, the Pro 2 championship will go down to the wire as Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green riders Corey Floyd and Ryan Abbatoye fight for top honors. After a great performance by Floyd, who earned his fifth win of the season, he now sits only three points behind consistent finisher Abbatoye.
With only a few weeks until the International Six Day Enduro in Portugal, Huffman has been practicing the basics for the bike maintenance he will have to perform on his own.
“I’m really excited for this new experience,” said Huffman. “I have been told what to expect, but I won’t know first hand what is to come until I get there.”
The next five weeks are going to be busy for every one on the Monster Energy Kawasaki off-road team. Abbott has a Hare and Hound race, Dietrich and Huffman will be in Ohio for EnduroCross before leaving to Portugal and when the group returns they head to the final WORCS race of the season in Mesquite, Nev.
“It’s going to be busy for sure, but I have been training all summer for this time of the year and I’m really feeling good,” said Abbott.
