OCR Text |
Show SddAMb 6A Thursday May 30, 2002 -- - World By KIM race series stops by Carbon County off-ro-ad ognized in his own right as the ORNDORFF promoter of a premier national d event that boasts such' sponsors as Parts Unlimited, YoshimuraSuzuki, Moose and Contributing writer off-roa- National rider iy Davis took the overall win in the pro class in round three of the World Off-Ro- ad Championship Series ( WOKCS) held in Price last Sat- urday and Sunday. Round one was in Phoenix, Ariz. and round two was at Lake Havasu, Ariz. The two hour, 11 lap battle started on the Carbon County motoemss track, then kxipedout to a dusty desert battle that took the pro racers on five miles of offroad desert course, complete with tight; handlebar wide washes, small drop offs, razorbacks and rocks. Then it was back onto the motoemss track to face jumps and a tricky k)g obstacle that took out lap one's front runner, Robert Naugton pushing him back to th place by race end. Mike Kiedrowski, the 2001 WORCS defending champion, hounded Davis through all 11 laps and finished only 12 seconds hack. Both Davis and Kiedrowski finished with a two minute lead over third place Russell Pearson. 1 1 In an event that Carbon County has been preparing for since the inception of the idea in the fall of last year. Price wel- comed national caliber riders from around the nation, local Utah desert racers chasing points, and racersjust looking for a good race, in an event that combines the precision and timing of molocross with the demanding and fickle terrain of desert racing. It made for an exciting two days as Utah riders competed on the same course and at the same time as many of their nationally acclaimed heros. The WORCS series is the brainchild of Dave Hamel, a former national desert rider from Nevada. The Hamel name is legd world. endary in the off-roa- Many remember champion Danny Hamel, Dave's brother, who was killed in Baja in 1995. Through the WORCS series, Dave Hamel is fast becoming rec classes were run for both the WORCS series and the Utah Sportsmen Rider's Association (USRA) desert series. The course set for Saturdays races was longer than the Sunday Pro In more. addition, through many the Danny Hamel memorial Race. All racers ran the same fund, the Hamels sponsor up and course on Saturday and were coming young riding talent . timed. The desert section was a total of 10 miles divided into two throughout the country. The fact that the WORCS separate loops. Riders were sent race came to Mce was the brainout from the motocross track to child of local Utah County and a first desert kxrp of fL5 miles, Carbon County residents in- back into the motocross track, volved in off-roracing. After a back out to a separate desert loop few phone calls to Dave Hamel, of 15 miles, then back onto the and after conversations with Ken track. Most riders went around - Kirkwood of CEMAa local, ..this course three or four times in motocross club, Ken took the the allotted one hour and' IS ' ball and started to run with it. He minutes scheduled for each event (All race times in the followpresented the idea to Carbon County commissioner, Tbm Mating events are rounded off to the thews who threw his support benearest minute.) Event A, with 90 contenders, hind project. As a result of the hard work from Kirkwood and was an unclassified race, a veriwith no class the support of Carbon County, table free-for-ad -- all improvements needed for the Price motocross track happened in a phenomenally short time frame. With much of the d course being run on land leased from the state by Phillips Petroleum, there were the necessary legalities to take care erf. But with the clout of a national race, Kirkwoods persistence, the permission of Phillips and the support of Carbon County, the new off-roa- l place skeletal WORCS crew arrived a week before the blessed event. The gates opened Friday, May 24 for a practice session of seemingly controlled chaos. By Saturday morning, professional race teams and vendors filled the parking area, with local racers spreading out and filling in the rest of the parking lot. With professional works bikes on display, with manufacturers, vendors and national racers walking around intermingling with the local racriders faners, it was an off-rotasy come to life. , On Saturday, the races to determine winners in the various ad distinctions and a first one to cross the finish line wins motto. In reality, the race was a chance for racers to scope out the course in advance and decide their strat- egies. The winner was David Pearson with a time of 39 minutes for two laps. in Next was the event the Novice class. Inahti experience for the men, Yancey, one of the top female i ers in the nation, had the best defending champion', Mike Kiedrowski, one point behind est kids on a portion of the motocross track only. In sharp contrast to the final grueling pro race to follow, little ones top heavy with helmets scooted exp (pro), expert and amateur divisions. The winner was Russell Pearson (yes, it runs in the family) with a four lap finish in 82 minutes. By the end of the day, if any- Davisin the series totals. Reshaping up to be an exciting and closely contested series with round four to be run at Washougal, Wash, on June Results can be tracked at around the trade followed closely by helpful sweepers amid cheers and smiles from proud parents and spectators. one wasnt dusty, then they werent there! County crews be- 8--9. www.worcsracingxom. Will the WORCS race return next year? The crystal baU hasnt revealed anything yet. The offroad conditions were very different from those found at other WORCS races where the offroad sections of course can be more easily groomed. Some racers . found the dust and the countys desert terrain frustrating. Others found it a fun change and a chance to prove that they can excel in more extreme conditions. In any event. Price and Carbon County proved that they can handle a national caliber event . in style. The community along with the WORCS series helped to put Price on the national offroad map. Not bad considering that the county has never hosted an event of this magnitude in the As the stands began to fill up for event J, the pro race, course workers were sent out to monid section of the tor the gan propping the track for the Sunday morning races, and watering trucks from the county and the gas company watered down accessible sections of the desert course to minimize dusL Sunday morning dawned The results of last weekend's round three race puts last years minutes. Finally, event I put the teeni- The final race of Saturday was event E with with racers in the open and 250 classes in the AA off-roa- course. The shortest distance between two points is any straight line, therefore experienced desert racers can smell, and will use this distance if not expressly forbidden by course markings or scowln officials in orange ing vests. Promoter Hamel spent Saturday night reviewing errant tracks on the desert course from Saturdays races and ribboning off the quick lines that many racers had conveniently found and used to their advantage. At 1:30 to p.m. 36 pro riders went head ' head, 4 nd approximately two hours later Davis emerged the undisputed winner of round three series. of the WORCS six-ra- hot- ter than Saturday and the first, race of the daywas event F, scheduled as a team race. Find a partner and saddle up! With the course shortened for the upcom- -' ing pro race , 10 teams competed with the win going to Kyle Krause and Jonathon Weisman with an eight lap finish in 93 minutes.' Event G was the quad race. The winner was Doug Eichner doing five laps in 46 minutes. Event H put the kids on the track. The winner was Justin Soule, a Danny Hamel Memorial Rider with a five lap finish in 47 bug-bitte- ce e, time for the event with three laps completed in 68 minutes. included the rest Event of the Novice class. The winner of that race was Gus Adams with a race time of three laps in 71 minutes. Event C included all riders competing in all age classes in the AA exp (pro), expert and amateur divisions. In a foreshadowing of things to come, TJr Davis . won with a four lap finish of 82 minutes. Event D put the four stroke and 125 cc bikes on the course together in the AA exp (pro), expert and amateur divisions. The winner was Nick Pearson doing four laps in 79 minutes. B-t- ',. ! etl The Carbon County motocross track hosted its fair share of nritenwirtthbpakweekendasoff-roadriderofromacros- taste of dust filled the mouths of several off-ro- ad V V1 . petition for ttw first time ever in Price. The course allowed riders to experience terrain not common to the series and s ttw country competed in the national event held at the local track. The Worid Championship Series held com- - made for an exciting competition. By the end of the event evetyone in attendance was covered with dust or mud. riders found the local motocross track to be chai- longing The brush, dirt, and rock was unlike most areas in which the riders compete on. The event was a success with competitors and spectators alike. Off-Ro-ad The ig-- ' r. itUf vV- - riders this past weekend as they competed at the county motocross. Off-ro- ad V Local athlete Invited to at tend prestlgous football caaip. Carbon Higfr football star Jan Jorgensen has been invited to attend the national Nike football camp at the University of Oregon on June 8. The camp wiD allow athletes from across ' the Country to participate in drills while being observed by college recruits. The opporfr nity to become noticed Iw colleges is priceless, eqretiaily for an athlete from a small high wfll give the high school senior owmxl or leased by the Division of Wildlife Resources in Utah is how available. ; ' The guide entitled Access to Wildlife Lands in Utah, is available at DWR offices in Ogden, Springville, Vernal, Prioeand Ce-- dar City. , Thn is something eveiywild-lif-e enthusiast in Utah will want' fishing opportunities, division in the state that day. All other regulations found m the 2002! Utah fishing proclamation will! be in effect s. O ; Wfe're trying to attract people , to fishing by having a free day," Han PettengiU, sport BnaforferDWR Division stafftreat free fish- -; mg day as they would a holiday weekend, stocking additional' fish to meet ttye additional doll outdoors. The guide lets people and reservoirs, as this is where .. : . s fishing day in Utah. People will stated John Fairchild, habitat conservation coordinator for DWR,TnadditioatDlHintingand a chance to be noticed. ; know where thesaareas are, how ; most of the fish stocked for free p. Jorgensen will return in his ftv to access them and what times of fishing day wQl be placed. nal season with the Dinos next year the land is open to visitors. Anglersespedaily those! season and will be under fee v Formbre information caU the who might be fishing for the' coaching direction of his father, nearest DWR office or the Natu- -. first time, are encouraged to ; ral Resources Map A Bookstore, pick up a copy of file proda' Division of Wildlife ReV: matron and learn the rules. ! at (801) sources release guide to pub' WFrce flshlng.day scheduled; Rodamafions are 'available : ; Helpers American Legion baseball season to begin soon American win kick The annual Legion baseball season next week in Helper. The season will begin with a tournament which wiS host bams from across the state. Titty Grundy who was a key player for Carbon High Ws year, wiB be one of many Pino stars to compete on the J Helper team. Players from Emery County and East Car-o- ff Ixmwin also fifitM American Legion roster this year. The .. tournament begins tone 6 and runs through June 9. The opening pme for Helper wil be Thursday at 6:15 pm with games following each following after. 537-33- 20 : lie band.' i A guide to hunting, fishing, wildlife watching hiking and other opportunities on more than 450,000 acres of land , for JuneS. J. A from fishnwhoense agentsState waters throughout TwidesndatraDWRoflkxalh; Fishing Utah should seejenty ofanriers prodamatinn can drobe found co ; Saturday, Jurro 8, as the Division the division internet web site a; ' of Wildlife Resources marks free www.wiklifcutaligov. v-;'- -.; X V . f . tv-TT- r-: - |