ITP Team Riders Earn Numerous Podiums in GNCC and WORCS Competition
- Updated: May 16, 2014
WORCS – Round 5
The No. 252 of Chris Willing finished second in the SxS 850 class at round five of WORCS in Southern California. Willing ran Black Water Evolution tires on his Polaris SxS.
Round five of the WORCS tour was held at the Desert Empire Fairgrounds a couple hours northeast of Los Angeles. The new course offered a mix of man-made and natural obstacles, but was overshadowed by the poor visibility and extremely windy conditions Saturday for the UTV racing. With gusts close to 70 mph, whiteout conditions slowed the speeds of many of the racers. ITP-supported side-by-side pilots earned one podium and two additional top 10 finishes in the challenging conditions.
“The Desert Empire round featured an all-new course that was rough and rutted, but the horrible wind made it all the more challenging,” said Ryan Edwards, ITP tech support representative / West Coast race coordinator. “Our racers put forth a valiant effort, as just finishing became a top goal at this round. We were thrilled with Chris Willing’s second-place run and the consistency shown from some of our other drivers. The bad-luck bug bit a few guys, too, and we look forward to improving at round six.”
Shawn Viola (IMG / ITP) took fifth in the SxS 1000 ranks at round five of WORCS, using ITP Ultracross tires.
The team’s lone podium went to Polaris pilot Chris Willing, who took second place in the SxS 850 class. Willing, who won the last round, now has two straight podium finishes with his ITP Black Water Evolution-equipped RZR 800. Despite missing the first three rounds, he’s currently in fourth place in the point standings.
ITP racers Kevin Cunningham and Jay Humphrey finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the XC2 Pro-Am class at Loretta Lynn’s. Cunningham (16th) and Humphrey (21st) also made it into the top 25 overall in the afternoon session. Junior A (22+) racer Aaron Pridgen was fifth in his class.
In the 10 a.m. session, ITP had a few second-place finishers and one class victory. Kenneth Rich Jr. followed up his round five victory with another solid performance at Loretta’s. He was in third after the first scored lap, but picked off the top two riders over the next five laps to earn his second win of the season. The victory pushed him into the top five in points, despite missing the opener and also suffering a DNF at another round. Current Masters 50+ class points leader Kenny Rich Sr. took second place at Loretta’s. Kelley Deloach finished second in the Women’s Amateur (13+) class. Deloach has now finished on the podium at every round and is the current class points leader. Second place was also earned by Suzuki racer Dale Batson in the 35+ C class. Super Senior (45+) racer Dave Simmons and WXC class competitor Angel Knox did not compete in Tennessee.
IMG Motorsports / ITP Pro John Pacheco picked off nine racers on his way to a 12th place finish at round five of WORCS held in Ridgecrest, Calif.
The early morning youth session saw Team ITP rider Jordan Digby notch his third class podium finish of the season in the 125 Sr. (12-15) ranks. However, he also took second place on the overall youth podium, finishing just roughly seven seconds out of the top spot. Marti Lantz competed in the Girls (8-15) division at Loretta’s and earned third in the class on her ITP-outfitted Yamaha. Dylan Walraven took fourth in the 90 Open (12-15) class to climb into second place in the standings. Fellow 90 Open class racer Carter Kerens did not race at round six. Parker Henderson extended his streak of podium finishes to six with a second-place ride in the 70 CVT (6-11) class.
Shawn Viola and Alfredo Ramirez each earned a top 10 finish in the SxS 1000 class that featured more than 20 entries at round five. Viola came from ninth place after lap one to climb into the top five on lap four. He maintained his spot from there to tally his second top-five run in four events using ITP Ultracross tires. He’s currently ninth in points. Ramirez, fifth in points, earned eighth with his Black Water Evolution-dressed Polaris. Del Amo Motorsports’ Kyle Melville was 12th at round five, but is currently in sixth place in the standings.
ITP had several Pro class racers compete at round five. IMG Motorsports John Pacheco took 12th, but came from nearly dead last to earn the respectable finish in his Can-Am. Niko Skiparnias ended up 15th, but passed eight other racers in the process.
Team ITP motocross racers will be in action this weekend, May 17-18, at the ATV Stampede event held at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Pa. SxS drivers will also compete this weekend at round three of the 2014 Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Series at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore, Calif.
