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WORCS Championship Round 3 - Mesquite, NV
After a long hiatus, the West coast off-road season was back underway this weekend. The hot, dry desert of Mesquite, NV was the hosting location for the third round of the WORCS series and, as always, the Mesquite race course would be a challenging combination of soft sand, some silt, and deep whoops. Added to the mix (because of the delayed timing on the calendar) was the forecast: an early spell of heat saw temperatures rise up to 110 degrees over the weekend. High winds made it tough to keep much moisture in the ground so it was going to be an old-fashioned, brutal WORCS race to see who could manage the two hour finale.
Zach Bell - 5th Place Pro
Just after the gate drop, Zach was able to skate around the inside of the first corner, exiting inside the top-five. He quickly moved his way into second place and settled in behind series leader Taylor Robert. Over the first thirty minutes, the two began to put a bit of distance on the field and it looked to be a two-horse race for the win. Unfortunately, just fifteen minutes later, Bell began noticing an issue with his motorcycle. An electrical issue was affecting the performance of the motor, which forced Bell to slow his pace and adjust in order to secure a finish. Zach did his best to continue a decent pace, though a few riders were able to make their way by over the next hour of the race. In the end, Zach crossed the line in fifth, salvaging an honorable, though not ideal finish.
"It felt good to be back at the races. To be back at one of the toughest rounds is always a humbling experience. The conditions were brutal! It was hot this weekend. Thankfully it was a little bit cooler today, so that helped. It was good to get out there and race. We had a little issue out there, but we'll get it figured out and continue to get better and stronger every weekend."
JP Alvarez - 1st Place Pro 2 Lights
Alvarez was gated a little outside of the doghouse on the Pro 2 Lights line. As the gate dropped, JP tried to push around the outside of the field through the first corner and exited just outside of the top-five. Over the first couple laps, the KX250 rider made a few passes to slot into fourth place. From there, Alvarez had a back-and-forth battle with KTM-mounted Angus Riordan before solidifying the third position just past the hour mark of the race. Not long after, JP had caught up to Will Riordan—brother to Angus. Alvarez was able to complete the pass on Will and slowly pull away to the checkers, finishing the race in second position behind series leader Tyler Lynn. After the race, WORCS ended up penalizing Lynn, which moved JP up to first place in the official results. The win catapulted Alvarez up into the point lead in the championship as well.
"The track was just beat! But [WORCS] was able to water it pretty well, so the dirt was pretty wet. My race was pretty good, I think I was like seventh or eighth off the start. I just kind of paced myself for the first half of the race. I worked myself up and pushed what I could at the end and I crossed the finish line second, but it was unfortunate what happened to [Tyler Lynn], and I was moved up to first. I don't like to win like that; I definitely want it to be fair and square. Still, I felt good out there."