Ontario, California, May 14, 2013 – Team ITP racers battled in both the 2013 Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship series and the World Off-Road Championship Series over the weekend and tallied numerous class victories and podium finishes. In Indiana at round four of the ATV MX series, ITP supported racers earned a total of 17 podiums, winning seven classes. The West Coast WORCS UTV racers tallied three podium finishes, including the SxS Production 850 class victory, using ITP tires at the Taft, California event.
“Our Team ITP racers had a wonderful time at the inaugural visit to Wildcat Creek MX in Indiana. Winning seven classes is a great accomplishment, especially at an all-new motocross track. Pro class racer Josh Creamer just missed another podium finish and continues to impress using ITP tires,” said Pat McGuire, Public Relations / Race Support. “Our WORCS UTV racers did a great job as well, winning the 850 production class and earning a spot on the highly competitive SxS Pro Production class.”
AMA ATV Motocross – Wildcat Creek MX
Six ITP-supported racers won seven classes in Rossville, Ind., the home of Wildcat Creek MX, which was making its AMA ATV MX series debut. College 16-24 class pilot Sam Rowe went 2-2 in class motos to earn the win. It was his third victory in four rounds and he now holds a 17-point advantage over second place. Alex Gillette rode his ITP tires to the win in the Production C class and third place in the 450 C ranks. Chloe Buerster won the Women’s class with 2-1 moto scores and took sole possession of the class points lead. She earned another podium in the Open B class, taking third.
Blake Sarver is a perfect 4-for-4 and has yet to lose a moto in the Schoolboy Jr. (13-15) class riding on ITP tires. The Indiana native, who also took fourth in the Schoolboy Sr. (14-17) class, leads by 28 points heading into round five. In other youth classes, Brogan Guyer notched two moto sweeps in two classes. He won both the 90 Auto Sr. (12-15) and 90 CVT (8-15) classes while climbing to within one point of the class leader in the CVT class. Noah Mickelson won the 90 Open class and took second in the Super-Mini (13-15) class. Haedyn Mickelson, who took fifth in the Schoolboy Jr. (13-15) class to retain the points lead, notched a second place finish in the Schoolboy Sr. (14-15) class as well. Another second place finish went to Sam Steckly in the 90 Open Sr. ranks.
Pro class racer Josh Creamer finished seventh in moto one, but rebounded to tally a third-place finish in the final moto Saturday. With his third consecutive fourth-place finish, Creamer now sits just six points out of second place. Fellow ITP-supported Pros Jeffrey Rastrelli finished 12th while Sean Taylor was 13th.
William Lloyd failed to win the Junior 25 Plus class for the first time this year, however, his fourth-place finish kept him in control of the class points lead. He’s also sitting in fifth place in the Pro-Am class. Fellow ITP Pro-Am racer Brent Sellers earned his first podium of the year, finishing third in Indiana.
Despite a sixth-place finish in the 450 A class, Dalton Hicks is still the class points leader heading into round five. Other podium finishers at Wildcat Creek MX included Dylan Tremellen (2nd, 4-Stroke A), Mike Barnhardt (3rd, Open A; 2nd, Vet 30+), Merrill Crose (3rd, Vet 30+) and 125 Pro Sr. racer Jordan Digby, who finished third.
The series resumes May 24-25, at Sunset Ridge MX in Walnut, Ill.
WORCS – Honolulu Hills MX
Team ITP racers headed to Honolulu Hills MX in Taft, Calif., for round five of WORCS. ITP-backed side-by-side drivers making headlines in Taft were SxS Production 850 racer Justin Lambert of Cognito Motorsports and SxS Pro Production class racer Keegan Rogerson (Queen Racing / Rogerson Construction).
Lambert, who finished second at two earlier WORCS rounds, finally earned the top spot on the podium using ITP TerraCross R/T XD tires during his victory at round five. He’s currently sitting fourth in the point standings, just 10 points behind second place. Fellow 850 class pilot Brice Ginn (Dragon Fire / ITP) earned his best finish of the year in the SxS Production 850 class, taking fift place. Sara Price was eighth in Taft, but still holds down fifth in the 850 class point standings.
Rogerson, in just his second race of the year, piloted his side-by-side to third place in the very competitive and deep SxS Pro Production class. He was in ninth place after the first lap, but by the midway point he had passed four racers to move into the top five. Two laps later, Rogerson had worked his way into podium contention. Rogerson, who also used ITP TerraCross R/T XD tires on his SxS, ended the day with his first podium finish of the year.
Using ITP Holeshot ATR tires on his Cognito Motorsports-backed side-by-side vehicle, Cody Rahders earned second overall in the SxS Production 700 class. He has posted three, second-place finishes this season and now sits all alone in third place, despite missing round four.
Round six of WORCS is slated for July 12-14, at Pala Raceway in Pala, Calif.
About ITP
In business for more than 30 years, ITP has become the world’s #1 ATV/UTV aftermarket tire and wheel source. ITP utilizes its experienced staff of engineers, designers and technicians at its two American tire facilities in Clinton, Tenn., and Jackson, Tenn., to develop award-winning tire-and-wheel designs for virtually all ATVs and side-by-side vehicles. Numerous outlets distribute ITP tires across the United States and in more than 25 countries worldwide. For a full-color ITP catalog, call toll-free: 1-800-859-4740, www.itptires.com.