2018 Canyon WORCS Report

A very rocky and technical racecourse awaited
the Chaparral Motorsports, Precision Concepts, Kawasaki
team at round two of the WORCS series. The 2018 Canyon WORCS track
took the racers through numerous rocky washes. Tying it all
together were a slippery, high-speed section and flowing motocross
course. In the Pro class, Justin Seeds and Blayne Thompson both
started just inside the top twenty. By the finish, Thompson had
worked his way up to eighth place. Seeds was just a few seconds
back in tenth. In the Pro 2 class, Clay Hengeveld fought forward
after an awkward start. Clay would come home in fourth place by
race end.
Blayne Thompson - 8th place Pro

Blayne spun his rear
tire off the concrete start pad, getting pinched instantly. Then, a
few corners later he was caught in a pile-up, coming out around
nineteenth. From there, Thompson steadily worked his way forward.
He made a few passes in the technical pro-only section and took
advantage of mistakes from a few other riders to get inside the top
ten. Blayne was at the tail-end of a five-rider train up to fourth
place. Unfortunately, he just lost the tow of the group in the
middle of the race. Thompson came home eighth place at the
checkers.
https://youtu.be/uHDdhluly_M
Blayne commented after the pro race, "I got a good jump, then hit
the [extended] section of cement and lit the tire up like a race
car. I don't even know what I was off the start. Then it got even
worse when Zach Bell went down and I almost crashed into him. I was
able to make a few passes on the first lap. There were a couple
close calls, but I was able to keep it on two wheels. Me and Zach
[were close] for a few laps. I was trying to push and get up there
to the top four, but they were riding good today. The course
actually got better throughout the race. It was fun, but I think I
can work on getting through the rocks a little better. [Looking to
BIG 6 next weekend] my foot's feeling better. So, we're going to
come into Glen Helen and just push it. I'm going to come out
swinging because I'm not liking eighth today. So, we're going to
see what we can do."
Justin Seeds - 10th place Pro

The Chaparral
Motorsports, Precision Concepts, Kawasaki rider had a solid showing
at the 2018 Canyon WORCS round. After a mediocre start, Justin
rounded the first few corners in fifteenth. From there, he
methodically worked his way forward. Seeds battled with the likes
of Steven Gibson and Travis Damon, moving up to tenth. Late in the
race, Justin was in a back-and-forth battle with Logan Chambers.
The two were closing the gap to eighth place, but in the end,
Justin just ran out of time. He crossed the line tenth.
https://youtu.be/S1JtxjSFEco
"I came out [of the first few corners] in a decent spot," remarked
Justin post-race. He continued, "From there everybody started to
spread out. This track was very tricky, and I just started making
mistakes. I'd push, then make a mistake, then push, then make
another mistake. I think every lap I had a close call
[laughs]. There were a lot of [embedded] rocks and you'd
hit one and your front end would go one way. Honestly, we got the
two unique events out of the way. So, now we'll be able to really
out the hammer down and get back to where we know we should be.
Obviously, tenth isn't where I want to be, but I'm healthy and I'm
moving forward. [Going into BIG 6 Glen Helen] I'm looking for a
podium. I know I have the speed. I'm just going to go as fast as I
can and I don't see a reason I shouldn't be on that top spot."
Clay Hengeveld - 4th place Pro 2

The 2018 Canyon WORCS
round was Clay's 450 debut-he raced a
250F at the Vegas opener. A slight miscommunication between the
starting crew and the riders led to an awkward start for Clay's Pro
2 main. After it all shook out, Clay rounded the first few corners
just outside the top ten. Hengeveld put in a shift to get himself
up to fourth place before the close of the first lap. From there,
Clay was right on the heels of Mitch Anderson for a podium finish.
As white flag came out, Clay had closed to within five seconds of
Anderson. Pushing hard to close the distance, Clay made an
unfortunate mistake and fell on the final lap. Fortunately, he had
a comfortable gap on fifth place and was able to maintain fourth
place at the finish.
https://youtu.be/jOos6Ki2oQw
Clay was happy with his performance. He stated, "The race went good
for me. This was my first 450 race, and kind of a hometown race for
me, too. The course was good, nice and rough, which I liked. My
start was a little haywire, but...I rode a lot better today than I
did yesterday [in the qualifier], so I'm a lot happier. I was right
behind Mitch [Anderson] going into one of the creeks [on the last
lap]. Then, I just hit a rock and washed my front end, so he got
away from me. We ended up fourth today and I'm happy with that. I'm
really excited to go to Glen Helen [BIG 6], racing the 250 again.
My mind is set to go win the Pro 2 class there, so we'll see what
happens."
2018 Canyon WORCS Results
Pro
- Giacomo Redondi
- Gary Sutherlin
- Dante Oliveira
- Eric Yorba
- Zach Bell
- Justin Jones
- Justin Wallis
- Blayne Thompson
- Logan Chambers
- Justin Seeds
Pro 2
- Trystan Hart
- Noah Kepple
- Mitch Anderson
- Clay Hengeveld
- Austin Serpa