August 9-11, 2013 Devore, CA WORCS Round 7- Glen Helen Raceway
With summer temperatures hitting the upper 80’s, Glen Helen Raceway would host Round 7 of WORCS racing super events in Devore, CA. A full weekend of ATV, Motorcycle and SxS racing would have WORCS participants busy and WORCS personal working hard to make it all happen.
Round 7 would bring some fun challenges to the riders including a WORCS-x section of giant tires and a water jump that would leave a few people soaked to the bone. For those that elected to not challenge the water jump there was the chicken line and riders could meander over the telephone poles. The water jump would nearly take down Kyler Thau 224y of Chico CA when he came up just barely shy of the far edge, kicking the back end of his Stage 5 Elka Suspension equipped Yamaha Raptor 250 like a bucking bronco and sending his 80lb body into the air like a freestyle rider at the X Games. Kyler would somehow ride it out, as a large crowd of spectators gasped then cheered as he held on, kept the quad running and going from looking down at the front bumper to seated and zooming away after the wild ride. He would hold 2nd place for the entire 50 minute race until the very last lap when he sliced the sidewalls of 2 of his tires in the rock section and suffered a rear flat tire. Thau was able to limp across the finish line and take a 3rd in the 12-15 Production Sport class on Saturday morning.
Saturday afternoon, Kyler would take the line again for the 12-15 Production for another 50 minutes of WORCS racing where he would take the holeshot and lead the race from start to finish on his Raptor 250. Just a couple hours later, the mini quads would take to the Glen Helen track and Kyler took the win in the 30 minute 8-15 Sport class, laying down 21 laps in 30 minutes, keeping his undefeated record and the points lead in the class. Sunday morning would round up the weekend of racing at his 4th and final class, the large Production 250 class. This HUGE WORCS class of 15 riders would take to the line and attempt to squeeze 15 pounds worth of kids into a two pound bag for the start of the race. Kyler had a strong start pulling a second out of the hole but ended the race 7th after losing a couple positions in the final 2 laps after suffering an injury to his right throttle thumb.
Overall it was a good race weekend; 3 holeshots, 2 first place finishes and a third place finish. September’s round 8 will finally bring us closer to home at Honey Lake Mx in Milford, CA. This track, located in Northern California, is a great technical track of off road racing and sketchy terrain and sure to be a delight to the WORCS race community as the 2013 season comes closer to a close.
Kyler Thau would like to thank his 2013 sponsors for their continued support: Elka Suspension, Answer Racing, CT Racing, Go Pro, Fast Flexx Bars, X Brand Goggles, ODI Grips, Triumph Motorsports, Omega Brace, BRM Off Road, Slick Products Pro/Am Team, Hot Coats and Twin Air.