MXA RACE REPORT: 2020 LAKE HAVASU WORCS OFF-ROAD SEASON FINALE

The World Off-Road Racing Series (WORCS) finished off it’s 2020 season this past weekend in Lake Havasu, Arizona. MXA test rider and Assistant Editor Josh Mosiman decided to head out to the season finale on our 2021 Kawasaki KX450X test bike with another wrecking crew member, Josh Fout who piloted our 2021 KTM 450XCF. The two Josh’s have a passion for racing and they both enjoy a challenge. When it comes to Grand Prix-style racing on the West Coast, Lake Havasu is known for providing the toughest sand track around. After racing the event on a Rockstar Husqvarna in 2019 (read the full article here) Mosiman convinced Fout to go suffer with him in Arizona for the weekend. It was a great excuse to ride somewhere unique and to race test MXA’s cross-country Kawasaki and KTM 450 motorcycles.

Photos by Jason Roberts & Harlen Foley

MXA’s Assistant Editor and test rider Josh Mosiman sneaks into the lake to find a smooth line along the beach section of the track.

The Worcs season finale brought in some new faces. Factory Rockstar Husqvarna rider Thad Duvall and factory Red Bull KTM rider Josh Toth primarily race in the GNCC series, but they came out to compete in Lake Havasu. Duvall finished fourth place with Josh Toth finishing ninth. Red Bull KTM’s Taylor Robert is the defending Champion in Worcs and he was able to secure another Championship in the Pro class when he finished second place behind RPM KTM’s Dante Oliveira. Zach Bell rounded out the podium in third on his Precision Concepts Kawasaki KX450.

Dante Oliveira is only 20-years-old, but he is wicked fast and he’s starting to make a name for himself in West Coast Off-Road racing. He won the Pro class at the season finale and finished second in the Championship. 

Typically, the Pro class at the Worcs series races for a full two-hours, but the season finale was shortened down to 90-minutes plus 1-lap for two reasons. (1) The Covid pandemic shook up the schedule and caused the Worcs series to combine ATV and Motorcycle racing into the same weekends to finish out the series before year end. Typically, the ATV and motorcycle races have their own dedicated weekends. (2) With the Lake Havasu round being the season finale, the Worcs series hosted an awards banquet after the motorcycle and ATV racing was over for the weekend. For these two reasons, they decided to cut the Pro race down by 30-minutes.

MXA’s Josh Mosiman started off the Pro race in the back of the pack after struggling to get his bike started quick enough during the dead engine start. Both Josh and Husqvarna rider, Ryan Surratt rode together for the first few laps of the race and both were able to pass Rockstar Husqvarna rider Giacomo Redondi and others to get into the top ten. Mosiman then was able to get around Surratt and Travis Damon to get into seventh place and stay there for multiple laps. Later in the race, Trevor Stewart remounted a charge after crashing early to pass Mosiman—and Surratt was able to get back by as well. Then, once in the pit area for gas and goggles, Giacomo Redondi was able to get back by as well giving Josh a 10th place finish.

It was cold both Saturday and Sunday mornings for the Worcs season finale. Here, Taylor Robert tries to stay warm before the 8:45 start of the Pro race on Sunday. Taylor Robert finished second at the season finale, but he won the Championship in the Pro class. 

PRO CLASS RESULTS

1. Dante Oliveira #2
2. Taylor Robert #1
3. Zach Bell #100
4. Thad Duvall #989
5. Cole Martinez #34
6. Trevor Stewart #75
7. Ryan Surratt #951
8. Giacomo Redondi #81
9. Josh Toth #206
10. Josh Mosiman #67

This was the take-off for the lagoon water jump. The jump is tiny, but the sand ruts before it make it intimidating. This photo was taken during the first race of the day when the ruts were still moderate. As the day went on, they got more and more challenging. 

Thad Duvall typically races for Rockstar Husqvarna on the East Coast in the GNCC series, but he came to race Lake Havasu to fill-in for injured Worcs rider Austin Walton at the last round. 

MXA’s 2021 Kawasaki KX450X was put to the test this weekend and we will have a full article about the event and this bike in a future issue of Motocross Action Magazine. 

PRO 2 CLASS RESULTS 

1. Tallon LaFountaine #259
2. Mateo Oliveira #831
3. Deegan Vonlossberg #427
4. Colton Aeck #526
5. Todd Sibell #829

Tallon LaFountaine won the Pro 2 class on his SLR Honda and finished second in the Championship to Mateo Oliveira, Dante Oliveira’s younger brother. 

MXA test rider, Josh Fout (#1640) won the 30+ B class on MXA’s 2021 KTM 450XCF and finished 4th in the 450 B class. 

PRO 2 LIGHTS CLASS RESULTS

1. Jake Alvarez #192
2. Tyler Lynn #220
3. Angus Riordan #635
4. Brandy Richards #198
5. Thomas Dunn #172

One of Mountain Bike Action Magazine’s test riders, Aiden Chapin (1637), came out to race in the 450B class at Lake Havasu on a KTM 450. Mountain Bike Action is a sister publication to MXA.