Bobby Garrison leads Kurt Caselli in the last half though their positions switched at the finish.
The points chase for the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC World Off Road Championship Series is going down to the wire after a wild race at the penultimate round.Going into the Oceano Dunes charity beach race (benefiting the Clayton Memorial Foundation and spinal cord injury research advancement), Ricky Dietrich held a slim one-point advantage over Bobby Garrison, 189-188.
Early points leader Ryan Hughes sat in third with 166, but due to slow recovery from his broken arm at round seven, he wasn't expected to score any more points. That meant two-time and defending series champ Nathan Woods with 150 points thanks to his win at the previous race was still had a mathematical chance at retaining his title, though he would need to win the last two and rely on bad luck befalling Dietrich and Garrison.
The Pros get off the line for their two-hour race. In the background the ATV A class is visible. In a first, WORCS ran bikes and ATVs at the same time on parallel courses.
Team Green's Woods did his part by winning the race through the dunes on the central coast of California. It marked his second-consecutive WORCS triumph and the third straight in this unique benefit race at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area that is the most popular of the California state parks as a camping destination, partly due to the fact that 1500 acres of those dunes are open to motorized recreation.
But it certainly didn't come easily. Motocrosser Jimmy Albertson set a torrid pace in the beginning on his Zip-Ty Racing/Pro Circuit/THOR YZ450F, making it appear as if he was trying to check out, though he claimed, "All of a sudden I looked back and I was just checking out, and I was like, `All right, this is awesome!' "
Ricky Dietrich saw his one-point lead disappear with his fifth-place finish after an early crash. He now trails by four going into the finale.
Though his conditioning was much improved over round 10 in Arizona, however, Albertson found himself making mistakes after an hour and 40 minutes in the dunes, fell over a couple times and drifted back to finish fourth.
That left KTM's Kurt Caselli in front on his Michelin/Motorex/Moose 450 XC, though he was by no means alone. Garrison stayed within striking distance on his Race Tech/Montclair Yamaha/Moose YZ450F but couldn't find the gear to stay with Woods when the Team Green star went past. Garrison, however, was most interested in staying in front of Dietrich, who saw his points lead evaporate when he crashed hard on the first lap and found himself stuck in that no man's land between the leaders and the chase pack, eventually finishing fifth on his Carter Powersports/Pro Circuit/ARC KX450F.
Caselli had his own tumble in the early going but recovered and retook the lead. Late in the race, however, the strain took its toll--mostly on his bike. Two laps from the end, it lost second gear, though he maintained his lead.
Losing the three middle gears in the final two laps cost Kurt Caselli the win, though he was satisfied with the way he rode.
On the final lap, though, third and fourth gears went. With only first and fifth to work with, Caselli said, "The last lap was pretty frustrating. Nathan went by and there was nothing I could do."
Woods admitted, "I thought I was catching him just because I was catching him because he put so much effort into getting away because he put Garrison in between us and he really pulled away. I couldn't see him!"
But it didn't take long for Woods to catch and pass Caselli's ailing machine, and he recorded his second straight WORCS win on his Pro Circuit/Dunlop/Moose KX450F, though it'll likely be his last one on the 2006 model. Woods plans to break out the 2007 as he attempts to make it three in a row to finish out the season. "I didn't gain as many points on either [Dietrich or Garrison as I'd hoped], but still, there's still a chance. I'm going to keep on plugging along, and if it happens, it happens. If not, it wasn't meant to be." Unofficially, his 180 points moves him up to third place going into the finale in two weeks. That's 29 behind new leader Garrison and 25 behind Dietrich so only a win and major difficulties will work for him.
For Garrison to be king, simply finishing in front or very close to the other two will result in the series title.
Top 10 Pro results
1. Nathan Woods, Kawasaki KX450F
2. Kurt Caselli, KTM 450 XC
3. Bobby Garrison, Yamaha YZ450F
4. Jimmy Albertson, Yamaha YZ450F
5. Ricky Dietrich, Kawasaki KX450F
6. Robby Bell, Honda CRF450X
7. Eric Rhoten, Honda CRF450R
8. Matt Karlsen, Kawasaki KX450F
9. Dennis Stapleton, Honda CRF450R
10. Benny Breck, Suzuki RM250
Motocrosser Jimmy Albertson set the pace in the early laps but couldn't hold it for two hours and settled for fourth. | 
Bobby Garrison, flanked here by mechanic Charles Jirsa, finished a solid third and moved into the series points lead with only one race left. | 
Nathan Woods celebrates his second WORCS win in a row and his second this year, thus keeping him mathematically in the hunt to retain his number one plate. |