Speedworld Raceway WORCS, Surprise, AZ 2006
- Updated: January 21, 2006
Round 1
Speedworld Raceway
Phoenix, AZ
Jan. 21, 2006
photos and story by Ray Larez
Epic / CT Racing backed Josh Fredericks seen putting some time on Doug Eichner in the Pro Production class.
The kick off to the 2006 WORCS Racing Series was held in AZ, but instead of a Lake Havasu opening round, this year’s series stopped at Speedworld Raceway in Phoenix. There was an increase in the overall turn out for ATV riders. ATVs are 20% up over last year as stated by Sean the promoter. There were 427 total entries and 210 racers at the event. The track layout was great; it was a large Grand Prix layout. It had the perfect mix of motocross and desert sections. On hand at the track were a few vendors to assist the racers with maintenance and repairs. Maxxis Tire’s own Mike Farmer was there aiding the riders by mounting and repairing tires. Maxxis will be attending the entire WORCS. And the guys from Rekluse Clutch Components will be there to help replace clutches and make some minor clutch repairs as well. Both companies are sponsors of the event and it was great to have them on hand to help everyone.
Fredericks seen here on his Bombardier Outlander 800. Fredericks finished the weekend with three wins out of four races.
There were a few rule changes for 2006 that were very minor. First they changed the point schedule. Amateur racers will count seven of the nine races with two throw aways, and riders must attend five total races to qualify for the Championship. All Pros and Pro Am racers will count all rounds in the series no throw aways. Also noted, all racers that travel the series and attend all rounds will earn a five point bonus for rounds 8 & 9. There were also some rules changed about sound testing the vehicle. All 450 four strokes will be rated at 4500 rpm and two strokes will be rated at between 3500 rpm and 4000 rpm. This is mandatory for all Pro and Semi-Pro Riders. Tests will be done prior to each round and after the event. All other classes will be tested at random by the officials.
Here Eichner launches an up hill double in the Open Pro Class as he leads the field.
Duncan Racing’s Doug Eichner and Logan Holiday Battle for second place in the Pro Class.
Ding Ding – Round One
Since this was the first round it was everyone’s chance to draw first blood. The Pro Production Class battle proved to be a great race. Nick Hengtgen would grab the lead through the first turn and take home the holeshot award from Hiper Wheels (One hundred dollars cash). This year’s big turn out came with some great pro racers. Like Josh Frederick, Mike Cafro, Doug Eichner, and the younger up and coming rider Logan Holiday. Doug Eichner passed Nick and led for most of the race. Then Josh Frederick chased down Eichner, passed him for the overall win. Eichner finished second and Holiday rounded out the top three. The three podium spots were all held by Honda riders.
Temecula Motorsports own Mike Cafro charging hard in the Open Pro Class, where he battled throughout the race with #2 Brandon Brown
Josh Fredrick jumped off his Honda TRX450R after finishing the Pro Production with the win. He then mounted a Bombardier Outlander 800 to race the utility class directly after racing the hour-long race. He didn’t even have time to change his muddy gear let alone rinse off his chest protector. I doubt he even had a chance to catch his breath. He did manage to get himself a new set of goggles and gloves. The Bombardier Factory backed Frederick raced the stock machine and took the overall win in the utility class. Yet Frederick’s weekend was still not over, he had two other classes to compete in! Frederick is campaigning the Score and Best in the Desert Race Series as well as the WORCS series, along with his teammate Greg Row.
Later that day in the Open Pro class the hole shot cash was snagged by none other than Duncan Racing’s own Doug Eichner (2005 Open Pro Champion). He went on to lead the rest of the race and take home the overall win. Last year’s Pro Production Champ Josh Frederick had some problems with a bad start. Brandon Brown (2005 Open Pro Champion) was second to the first turn and would finish just behind Eichner, followed by Temecula Motorsport’s Mike Cafro. One unique item we had noticed was that the Duncan Race Team was outfitted with the new Fox Evolution Front Suspension. The last we heard these shock absorbers were not available to the public but are being released very soon. Not only will Team Duncan be running the Fox setup, so will Team Factory Suzuki.
#1 Doug Eichner chases down the leader in the Pro class. Along the way he turned in quicker lap times than the leader.
The ATV Pro Class was run the next day and gave most of the racers a break. There were many racers that ran more than one class, but nobody came close to Josh Frederick. He ran a total of four separate classes and won three of the four. Frederick looks like the force to be reckoned with this season. As the Pro Class left the gate and rocked down the straightaway, into the first turn, Logan Holiday snagged the holeshot award and earned himself $100. Logan held onto this lead for half the race only to be passed by Frederick. This Pro race would be an hour and a half long instead of the normal sixty-minute race. Just like in Nascar racing, pit strategy would play a part in this race. This meant they would have to pit for fuel. Eichner definitely kept the pressure on Holiday, trying to pass him every chance he could. Immediately after reeling him in, Doug then decided to pit early for a splash of fuel.
This proved to be a good strategy for the Duncan Team. Doug would later catch and pass Holiday after he pitted for fresh goggles and fuel. Doug Eichner was now stalking Josh Frederick with a commanding lead over the field. Doug turned faster lap times and began to close the gap to a mere 5.3 seconds by the finish of the race. Frederick took the overall win, Eichner finished second, and Holiday rounded out the top three. Again, the podium was filled with Honda riders; there seems to be some sort of pattern forming here.
