Another round has been completed at the 2012 WORCS racing series and with only one more round remaining the points battles have heated to a boiling point.  Round 7 was held at Cahuilla Creek MX park in Anza, CA.  Known for its big jumps and constant elevation changes, Cahuilla Creek is by far a favorite of the racers and spectators.  The facility allows for fans to view from multiple locations including 2 large table top jumps.  Located about 30 minutes outside of Temecula, CA the Anza race always draws a great car count and spectator crowd.  We at UTVUnderground.com always look forward to the Anza race and this year was no different.  With our friends at Mad Media in tow, video camera’s a-blazin’ and our new buddy Will Heim of Aerial PhotoWorx piloting his high dollar camera helicopter we would be sure to capture this round not only in still images as is expected, but also on video for a special project we have been working on that includes WORCS racing.

Thanks to Sean Reddish, owner of the WORCS Racing Series, racers from the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) who also compete at WORCS would be able to pull double duty on this full weekend of racing.  LOORRS was hosting their night race rounds at Glen Helen this weekend which worried some racers including 2 who are in heated points battles at WORCS and at LOORRS.  Sean implemented a schedule change a couple weeks prior to Anza that would move the UTV races to Saturday morning which to my surprise excited everyone we spoke with. This allowed racers RJ Anderson who is competing for a championship in Production 1000 and Production 700 points leader Cody Rahders to be able to continue their battles all while still making it back to Glen Helen in time.  Same went for Production 1000 racer Todd Seaver who is the onsite announcer at LOORRS.  I know all of those guys were very thankful to WORCS for making that schedule change.

The Production 1000 green flag dropped promptly at just before 11 am and right after the Production 700 & 850 classes finished their races. As the field of Polaris XP900’s, Arctic Cat Wildcat’s, Kawasaki Teryx’s, and Can-Am Commander’s roared to life it would be RJ Anderson in his Walker Evans Racing / Holz Racing Products / Polaris XP900 who would take the hole shot and never look back.  RJ would separate from the pack and his #1 competitor Ryan Piplic, tearing off the fastest lap of the race and finishing almost a full minute ahead of the 2nd place Piplic.  The 45 minute race was not as clean of a run for many others.  Out of the 33 cars that would line up, only 24 would complete enough laps to qualify for a finish while the other 9 cars would be dealt DNF’s and DNS’s. The XP900 of .50 Caliber racing wouldn’t even make it to turn one in due to a start line collision that would wound a front suspension component forcing that racer to pull off immediately.  As RJ Anderson checked out the real battles were waged by the others racing in the top 10.  Crowd Favorite Beau Baron drove his TurnKey UTV / Polaris XP900 like a man on a mission, passing cars as if they were standing still trying to put pressure on Piplic which he was able to do late in the race.  However Piplic remained strong keeping Baron at bay and delivering Baron a 3rd place finish.  The 6 car team of Rockstar Energy / Blingstar / Polaris would make their WORCS racing debut bringing 4 of their 6 clean new Polaris XP900 race cars.  Unfortunately the 2 Merrell brothers racing would not make it more than a lap in their own cars while Bryan Carr in the #913 would take a respectable 11th place and Clint Roberts in the #217 would finish 16th. Look for this team to be back in action at WORCS as they look to redeem themselves after their first time racing at WORCS.

With RJ Anderson getting the win and Ryan Piplic holding strong in 2nd it makes the final round of racing in September that much more exciting.  The 2 will enter the race tied for the points lead bringing the Championship down to the final race! Knowing the battle these 2 have waged all year it could come down to the final lap. Either way its sure to be exciting and fans couldn’t ask for a more exciting battle down the stretch.  Not to be counted out is 3rd in points Beau Baron who is sitting only 6 points behind Anderson & Piplic.  Baron is still very much in contention and with a little bit of luck he could be your 2012 WORCS SXS Production 1000 Champion.  Championships at WORCS is familiar ground for Baron who continues to dominate the premier pro quad class at WORCS.  Winning a SXS championship would only add to an already outstanding career at the WORCS series.

SXS Production 1000 – Class Results (RD7 Anza)
Place Nbr Name Overall Pos Points Earned Fastest Lap Laps Elasped Time
1 #637 RJ ANDERSON – POL
RIVERSIDE, CA
1 25 09:49.835
Lap 3
4 00:38:43.471
2 #15 RYAN PIPLIC – POL
SNOHOMISH, WA
2 22 09:59.575
Lap 4
4 00:39:18.588
3 #549 BEAU BARON – HON
ATASCADERO, CA
3 20 09:54.596
Lap 4
4 00:39:19.590
4 #122 PHILLIP MARTIN – POL
RESEDA, CA
4 18 10:09.687
Lap 4
4 00:40:12.973
5 #268 ANDREW BERRY – POL
PASO ROBLES, CA
5 16 10:28.697
Lap 3
4 00:41:27.646
6 #1 GREG ROW – POL
ALPINE , CA
6 15 10:29.353
Lap 3
4 00:41:37.042
7 #164 BRANDON ALTMANN – POL
HESPERIA, CA
7 14 10:29.172
Lap 3
4 00:41:41.465
8 #216 STEVEN BEARD – POL
VICTORVILLE , CA
8 13 10:25.944
Lap 4
4 00:41:42.631
9 #777 JAKE GRECO – POL
LEWISTON, ID
9 12 10:33.672
Lap 3
4 00:41:43.974
10 #13 NICK DIANI – POL
SANTA MARIA, CA
10 11 10:31.862
Lap 4
4 00:42:00.613
11 #913 BRYAN CARR – POL
CANYON LAKE, CA
11 10 10:27.667
Lap 2
4 00:42:06.309
12 #603 JOSH FREDERICK – CA
MOAPA, NV
12 9 10:06.697
Lap 3
4 00:42:18.582
13 #638 MITCH GUTHRIE JR – POL
GLENDORA, CA
13 8 10:37.359
Lap 4
4 00:42:22.881
14 #91 JAMES HILL – POL
LAKE ELLSINORE, CA
14 7 10:44.997
Lap 3
4 00:43:19.780
15 #76 JEREMIAH STAGGS – POL
HESPERIA, CA
15 6 10:53.203
Lap 3
4 00:43:55.931
16 #217 CLINT ROBERTS – POL
CORONA, CA
16 5 10:54.680
Lap 3
4 00:43:57.796
17 #555 SCOTT SANTELLAN – POL
FRESNO, CA
17 4 11:05.394
Lap 3
4 00:44:44.977
18 #654 CHRIS WILLING – POL
MINDEN, NV
18 3 11:19.534
Lap 2
4 00:45:55.204
19 #48 JOHN PEZZI – POL
WASHOE VALLEY, NV
19 2 11:33.917
Lap 4
4 00:46:07.508
20 #25 CHRIS HAWKS – OTH
RAMONA, CA
20 1 10:56.978
Lap 2
4 00:46:26.927
21 #712 TODD SEAVER – POL
EMMETT, ID
21 1 10:48.730
Lap 2
4 00:46:33.569
22 #80 ROBERT MOWRER – POL
N LAS VEGAS, NV
22 1 16:11.958
Lap 2
3 00:43:35.158
23 #641 TAYLOR GEORGE – KAW
ALTA LOMA, CA
23 1 10:06.395
Lap 2
2 00:19:26.129
24 #220 DEAN BULLOCH – OTH
CEDAR CITY, UT
24 1 11:39.007
Lap 2
2 00:22:04.565
DNF #219 JEREMY MERRELL – POL
TTA, CA
DNF 0 1 00:10:47.236
DNF #221 ELMER PEZZI – ARC
RENO, NV
DNF 0 1 00:10:52.481
DNF #69 RICHIE LAATZ – POL
N LAS VEGAS, NV
DNS 0 0
DNS #218 JASON MERRELL – POL
NEWPORT, CA
DNS 0 0
DNS #418 KEENAN ROGERSON – POL
BAKERSFIELD, CA
DNS 0 0
DNS #664 ROBERT VANBEEKUM – KAW
MESA, AZ
DNS 0 0
DNS #623 HANS WAAGE – KAW
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
DNS 0 0
DNS #222 JOEY BITTO – POL
MORENO, CA
DNS 0 0
DNS #710 CORY DEHOOG – POL
ONTARIO, CA
DNS 0 0

 

Series Points Report – Prod 1000 1/21/2012 2/11/2012 3/17/2012 4/14/2012 5/12/2012 6/16/2012 8/4/2012
Place Nbr Name Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Total Points
1 #637 RJ  ANDERSON
RIVERSIDE, CA
2 6 1 1 1 DNS 1 134
2 #15 RYAN  PIPLIC
SNOHOMISH, WA
1 2 18 2 4 2 2 134
3 #549 BEAU  BARON
ATASCADERO, CA
5 6 2 3 8 1 3 128
4 #122 PHILLIP  MARTIN
RESEDA, CA
3 3 4 15 17 4 86
5 #404 JAKE  GRECO
LEWISTON, ID
8 6 13 12 12 5 9 82
6 #2 JOSH  FREDERICK
MOAPA, NV
11 4 20 10 17 7 12 67
7 #164 BRANDON  ALTMANN
HESPERIA, CA
DNF 6 5 3 7 65
8 #1 GREG  ROW
ALPINE, CA
9 11 14 3 6 64
9 #638 MITCH  GUTHRIE JR
GLENDORA, CA
9 6 11 22 5 DNF 13 62
10 #712 TODD  SEAVER
EMMETT, ID
23 6 4 5 DNS 13 21 59
11 #654 CHRIS  WILLING
MINDEN, NV
13 6 8 15 20 6 18 58
12 #641 TAYLOR  GEORGE
ALTA LOMA, CA
10 6 DNF 7 DNF 4 23 56
13 #268 ANDREW  BERRY
PASO ROBLES, CA
6 6 DNF 16 10 5 54
14 #94 TYLER  WINDBURY
OJAI, CA
21 DNF DNF 6 2 8 51
15 #55 TIM  WYATT
CANTON, GA
14 6 16 DNF 13 11 45
16 #559 CASEY  FILIPPI
PORTERVILLE, CA
12 6 12 DNF 6 16 45
17 #25 CHRIS  HAWKS
RAMONA, CA
7 6 14 13 20 45
18 #710 CORY  DEHOOG
ONTARIO, CA
6 6 DNF 9 DNS 42
19 #13 NICK  DIANI
SANTA MARIA, CA
DNF 6 7 DNF DNF 10 40
20 #555 SCOTT  SANTELLAN
FRESNO, CA
17 6 21 21 10 17 36
21 #69 RICHIE  LAATZ
N LAS VEGAS, NV
19 6 10 24 21 12 DNF 36
22 #842 D.J.  NOERR
TAFT, CA
DNF 6 3 DNF DNF 32
23 #664 ROBERT  VANBEEKUM
MESA, AZ
DQ 1 19 25 DNS DNF DNS 28
24 #418 KEENAN  ROGERSON
BAKERSFIELD, CA
16 5 15 DNF DNS 27
25 #91 JAMES  HILL
LAKE ELLSINORE, CA
6 17 14 26
26 #48 JOHN  PEZZI
WASHOE VALLEY, NV
6 17 19 16 19 25
27 #80 ROBERT  MOWRER
N LAS VEGAS, NV
14 11 14 22 25
28 #913 BRYAN  CARR
CANYON LAKE, CA
9 11 22
29 # BRIT  MANSELL
MAYLENE, AL
15 6 21
30 #210 CAIN  SMEAD
LEONA VALLE, CA
4 DNS 18
31 #283 SHAWHEEN  ABDI
CORONA, CA
DNF 6 DNS 18 18
32 #5 MARK  HOLZ
LYNDEN, WA
18 7 17
33 #124 CRAIG  DILLER
HAWTHORNE, CA
6 15
34 #216 STEVEN  BEARD
VICTORVILLE, CA
8 13
35 #623 HANS  WAAGE
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
8 DNS 13
36 #220 DEAN  BULLOCH
CEDAR CITY, UT
9 24 13
37 #417 JOSH  ROW
EL CAJON, CA
6 12
38 # RIONOEZ  VOSE
,
6 12
39 # JEFF  VANASDAL
MUNCIE, IN
6 12
40 #54 NICK  NELSON
TEHACHAPI, CA
18 6 10
41 #702 MONTY  ALDRICH
HENDERSON, NV
20 23 19 15 10
42 #215 SCOTT  KIGER
WAYNESBURG, PA
6 DNF 7
43 #76 JEREMIAH  STAGGS
HESPERIA, CA
15 6
44 #217 CLINT  ROBERTS
CORONA, CA
16 5
45 #205 KEVIN  GLENN
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ
20 1

 

The Production 700 & 850 races kicked off at 9:45am and got the crowd pumped up with their land rush starts and turn 1 hole-shot battles.  It would be Cognito Motorsports very own Justin Lambert who despite being plagued by a season of bad luck and mechanical failures would take the front row hole-shot and lead the Production 850 class from flag to flag in dominating fashion.  It was clear to see that his Cognito Motorsports / Kawasaki Teryx WAS the car to beat in Anza.  Lambert would power his Teryx around the track and it was great to see this guy, who is always working so hard on his and others race programs finally get the win he deserved.  Finishing not far behind Lambert would be the Polaris RZR of Ken Benson who constantly got quicker as the race went on. Never did he seem to let up, he continued to push hard to try and run the very fast Teryx of Lambert down late into the race.  Despite the hard charging and usually dominating David Lytle pressing hard to advance from a solid 3rd position to 2nd, Benson held strong and put his Polaris on the podium.  Lytle however had nothing to be disappointed about.  His 3rd place finish gave him the points he needed to secure the Production 850 class championship putting his Kawasaki Teryx atop the class as they head into the final round.  Lytle said himself that RD8 will be just for fun as he already has been awarded the WORCS Season Championship in Production 850.  It was an awesome performance this year for Lytle and we look forward to watching him defend his title in 2013, hopefully still running those big UTVUnderground.com stickers!!

SXS Production 850 – Class Results (RD7 Anza)
Place Nbr Name Overall Pos Points Earned Fastest Lap Laps Elasped Time
1 #918 JUSTIN LAMBERT – KAW
BAKERSFIELD, CA
1 25 10:17.411
Lap 3
4 00:40:17.981
2 #999 KEN BENSON – POL
QUEEN CREEK, AZ
2 22 10:20.733
Lap 4
4 00:40:29.565
3 #2 DAVID LYTLE – KAW
SAUGUS, CA
4 20 10:34.069
Lap 3
4 00:41:18.949
4 #68 NIC GRANLUND – POL
LAS VEGAS, NV
6 18 10:39.850
Lap 2
4 00:42:30.303
5 #661 KYLE MELVILLE – KAW
ACTON, CA
8 16 10:58.297
Lap 3
4 00:43:14.692
6 #126 RYAN VANDEN BOSCH – POL
BELLFLOWER, CA
9 15 11:12.834
Lap 2
4 00:44:03.910
7 #854 BRYAN OSBORN – KAW
ALPINE, CA
11 14 11:13.548
Lap 2
4 00:44:34.332
8 #291 JAKE MORTON – POL
TAFT, CA
12 13 11:20.480
Lap 3
4 00:44:44.095
9 #456 ALFREDO RAMIREZ – POL
PASO ROBLES, CA
16 12 11:04.283
Lap 2
4 00:51:25.268
10 #51 JAMES GORMAN – POL
TEMECULA, CA
18 11 11:29.783
Lap 2
3 00:34:46.574
11 #929 MICHAEL REDHEAD – POL
YORBA LINDA , CA
20 10 11:17.118
Lap 2
2 00:21:37.304
DNS #417 NOLAN REMLINGER – KAW
FULLERTON, CA
DNS 0 0

 

Series Points Report – Prod 850 1/21/2012 2/11/2012 3/17/2012 4/14/2012 5/12/2012 6/16/2012 8/4/2012
Place Nbr Name Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Total Points
1 #2 DAVID  LYTLE
SAUGUS, CA
2 1 2 3 3 1 3 154
2 #456 ALFREDO  RAMIREZ
PASO ROBLES, CA
4 2 4 4 4 3 9 126
3 #68 NIC  GRANLUND
LAS VEGAS, NV
4 5 1 2 2 4 121
4 #661 KYLE  MELVILLE
ACTON, CA
3 3 3 6 7 5 5 121
5 #291 JAKE  MORTON
TAFT, CA
DNF 14 1 9 6 4 8 90
6 #918 JUSTIN  LAMBERT
BAKERSFIELD, CA
DNF 11 11 7 9 DNF 1 71
7 #999 KEN  BENSON
QUEEN CREEK, AZ
DNF 13 9 DNF 1 DNF 2 67
8 #71 GARRETT  GEORGE
RIALTO, CA
5 12 DQ 2 5 63
9 #624 DAN  KELLY
APACHE JUNCTION, AZ
1 8 DNF 13 8 59
10 #659 GEHNA  FURRH
BAKERSFIELD, CA
7 DNS 10 6 40
11 #924 ROBERT  GARNAS
BAKERSFIELD, CA
9 10 12 32
12 #51 JAMES  GORMAN
TEMECULA, CA
7 DNF 10 25
13 #854 BRYAN  OSBORN
ALPINE, CA
DNF 10 7 25
14 #417 NOLAN  REMLINGER
FULLERTON, CA
DQ DNF DNF 8 11 DNS 23
15 #79 CRAIG  THRESHER
BAKERSFIELD, CA
6 15 DNS 21
16 #115 WAYNE  TAYLOR
LA MESA, CA
16 8 DNS 18
17 #243 TODD  JESPERSEN
MESA, AZ
5 16
18 #232 MATT  WHITE
BAKERSFIELD, CA
5 16
19 #238 BRIAN  THOMAS
LAKE HAVASU, AZ
6 15
20 #22 JOHN  MCDONALD
SANTA MARGARITA, CA
6 DNS 15
21 #126 RYAN  VANDEN BOSCH
BELLFLOWER, CA
6 15
22 #813 MARK  BLAKEY
SAN MARCOS, CA
7 14
23 #515 CHRIS  WARD
SANTA CLARITA, CA
9 12
24 #172 CODI  ELIAS
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ
10 11
25 # MATT  LAUER
RIVERSIDE, CA
10 11
26 #929 MICHAEL  REDHEAD
YORBA LINDA, CA
DNS DNF DNS 11 10
27 #241 GEORGE  SCHWEIDEREICK
MESA, AZ
11 10
28 #56 JACOB  SHAW
LAKESIDE, CA
12 DNF 9

 

Production 700 has been a really exciting and fun class to watch this year.  The points lead has passed through the hands of 3 different competitors in Luke Rogers, Michael Hinckley and Cody Rahders and it will be those 3 racers who remain in the top 3 in points after RD7.  The landrush hole-shot would once again belong to Cody Rahders piloting the UTVUnderground.com / Cognito Motorsports / Polaris RZR 570.  Rahders was the first to enter the series with this new platform from Polaris, with UTVUnderground.com providing the machine and Cognito Motorsports transforming it into the Production 700 racer it has been proven as not only a worthy competitor but quite possibly championship caliber. Being only passed once early in lap one Rahders would regain the lead and never look back.  Checking out Rahders would battle to become the 4th vehicle PHYSICALLY on course during the Production 850 / 700 race and would easily win the Production 700 class. Finishing second would be hard charger Kayla Smith in her Alba tuned Yamaha Rhino, while early season championship favorite Luke Rogers would round out the podium.  Rogers who experienced a ton of early season success seemed to have everything going his way until RD5 where he would be dealt a DNF.  From there it has been a battle for Rogers but this Podium finish proved that their is no quit in that Magnum Offroad / Yamaha Rhino.  Heading into round 8 Cody Rahders will enter the race with an 8 point lead over 2nd in points Luke Rogers.  The battle that was once thought to be gone only a couple of rounds ago is now back and the pressure is on both drivers and their machines to perform.  Knowing both racers and their teams, you can bet this will be a battle that will come down to the final lap and we wish them both well!

 

SXS Production 700 – Class Results (RD7 Anza, CA)
Place Nbr Name Overall Pos Points Earned Fastest Lap Laps Elasped Time
1 #816 CODY RAHDERS – POL
ALPINE, CA
3 25 10:31.195
Lap 2
4 00:41:16.178
2 #3 KAYLA SMITH – YAM
VALLEY CENTER, CA
5 22 10:26.879
Lap 3
4 00:41:23.913
3 #12 LUKE ROGERS – YAM
PALMDALE, CA
7 20 10:43.255
Lap 4
4 00:42:53.522
4 #358 STEVE AMRINE – YAM
SAN BERNADINO, CA
10 18 11:12.836
Lap 2
4 00:44:09.293
5 #311 MICHAEL HINCKLEY – YAM
PALMDALE, CA
13 16 11:18.698
Lap 2
4 00:44:46.759
6 #352 JASON SHAW – ARC
RAMONA, CA
17 15 12:34.062
Lap 3
4 00:52:26.660
DNS #357 MATTHEW CHOTT – YAM
HUNTINGTON, CA
DNS 0 0

 

Series Points Report – Prod 700 1/21/2012 2/11/2012 3/17/2012 4/14/2012 5/12/2012 6/16/2012 8/4/2012
Place Nbr Name Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Finish Total Points
1 #816 CODY  RAHDERS
ALPINE, CA
4 DNF 2 1 2 1 1 137
2 #12 LUKE  ROGERS
PALMDALE, CA
1 1 1 5 DNF 4 3 129
3 #311 MICHAEL  HINCKLEY
PALMDALE, CA
7 4 4 2 3 3 5 128
4 #3 KAYLA  SMITH
VALLEY CENTER, CA
3 6 3 DNS 1 2 2 124
5 #358 STEVE  AMRINE
SAN BERNADINO, CA
6 4 5 4 67
6 #522 JOHN  HAAGSMA
BAKERSFIELD, CA
2 3 5 58
7 #626 MICHAEL  GONZALES
GLENDORA, CA
7 3 6 49
8 #352 JASON  SHAW
RAMONA, CA
4 6 33
9 #39 LARRY  CARRAHER
APPLEVALLEY, CA
5 DNF 5 DNS DNS 32
10 # DOUG  MITTAG
TEMECULA, CA
2 22
11 #76 JEREMIAH  STAGGS
HESPERIA, CA
DNS 5 16
12 # JOSHUA  LUCERO
YUCAIPA, CA
6 15
13 #354 EDDIE  MILLER
APPLE VALLEY, CA
7 14