Beau Baron
- Updated: September 26, 2011
By Beau Baron
Photos by Jamie Johnson
My weekend at the 2011 Glen Helen WORCS appears as if it could not have gone any better. I was able to win both the SxS class on Saturday and the ATV race on Sunday, so I would say it went quite well…
SxS Race Report
There were 16 cars in the SxS Class 1 and 42 total in the 3 classes. When the flag was thrown, I once again was able to pull the holeshot on all the other cars on the first line. Because I had a good amount of series points, I was able to line up on the first row of cars. Regardless, I knew I had some tough competition coming off that second line so I would have to have at least a 30 second gap on anyone in that row at the end of the race to beat them. The first lap was crazy with a whole lot of bumping and banging between myself and the Coastal Polaris car of William Yokley. After the first lap I was able to have a comfortable lead, but at times we would come up on unsuspecting lappers that did not necessarily move over right away, and this allowed Yokley to catch up and make me work a little harder to keep the lead. I ended up finishing 13 seconds ahead of Yokley and Ryan Piplic, also in a stock Polaris RZR, so Polaris equipment rounded out the top three.
ATV Race Report
I had the second fastest timed qualifier just behind Jeremie Warnia on Saturday, so when we lined up on Sunday I got to have second pick on the starting gate. I chose to line up on the very inside and although I did not get the holeshot, my start went pretty well. My teammate Davi Haagsma rocketed off the line and through the first turn with Warnia just behind him, while I pulled into the third spot. Warnia passed Haagsma on lap two and the next few laps were a three way all out battle between those two and myself.
On lap four I was able to pull alongside Haagsma in some rollers and I went through them just a little faster than he did and I barely snuck to the inside of the next turn that he was drifting out of. My next focus was on Warnia and he was right within striking distance. I came out of a left-handed sweeper with a good drive and was right on his rear tires. Then I was able to leave the gas on a little longer than Warnia heading into a right-handed down drop into a sand wash section and I was able to push him wide and take the lead.
After I got into the lead, my work was not done and there was no time to relax because I could see Warnia, Haagsma, Frederick and Nelson keeping on their charge and they were not going to let me breath easily. I had a decent pit stop at about the one hour mark and was able to get through it keeping the lead.
The next lap, I came up to the top of a hill that had a steep, rocky downside. When I got there I saw Pro-Am rider Grant Mitchell attempting to maneuver his way down. He made a small mistake and his quad went end over end and landed right on top of him, pinning him against the rocky slope and into some bushes. I heard him let out a terrible yell and I could not just pass him. I immediately parked my quad, pulled my tether, and ran down the hill to lift his quad off of him. It was so mangled into the brush that I could not get enough leverage to throw it off of him by myself. Just then I looked up the hill and saw Fredrick stop behind my quad. I asked him to help me and he too got off his quad and came to help. The two of us were able to get Grant from under his quad and out of the way, then we ran up the hill to our quads. It was kind of an unspoken understanding that we were waiting to make sure we both got our quads started before the other took off. This delay gave the rest of the pack a huge amount of time to catch us and close the gap. Luckily, I had already pit by this time, and Fredrick had not, so I was able to increase my lead. While he was stopped both Haagsma and Nelson were also able to get by him.
At the finish it was myself, and then Dustin Nelson in second and Josh Frederick in third. My teammate Davi Haagsma, finished a close fourth after going from second to fourth in one turn on the last lap. Warnia finished 5th.
This race result has really tightened up the series points chase and makes the battle for the championship even more exciting. I am going to do my best to prepare for the final two rounds and no matter how it ends it is sure to be exciting.
Thanks to my sponsors:
Maxxis MCR, H&M Motorsports, Pro Ciruit, K&N, Elka, Roll Design, Bolt, John Burr Cycles, Streamline, Ricky Stator, Precision Nutrition Plus, JRpublications, ATVriders.com, Moto Pro Training, IMS, Works Connection, Maier, Golden West, Pro-ATV, O’neal, Fasst Co., Quad Tech, Precision, Tsubaki, Tire Balls, CBR, Pro Honda Oils, Hinson, TrinityGFX.com, Zing, R & B Auto Center, X Brand Goggles, Evs, Alpinestars, Seven-Twenty Designs.
