Kurt Caselli Dedicates WORCS Race Win in Honor of Nathan Woods

FMF/KTM
rider Kurt Caselli’s goal this season is to defend his championship
one race at a time. This weekend, that took a backseat to honoring
his friend and fallen teammate, Nathan Woods.

The
entire off-road racing community was devastated after hearing
Friday’s news of Woods’ passing. The winningest rider in WORCS
history and a 2-time WORCS Champion, Woods succumbed to injuries
after a crash during Friday’s practice session. Saturday’s race
schedule was moved to Sunday to allow the WORCS community to
participate in a parade lap in honor of their late friend. The parade
lap was led by Woods’ wife Amanda and former mechanic and long-time
friend, Charles Jirsa. Caselli followed behind with Nathan’s son
Braxton, and behind them was a long train of friends and family who
rode a lap for one of the sports’ best riders.

With a
heavy heart, WORCS resumed the race schedule on Sunday and riders
lined the gate to race a 1 hour plus 1 lap moto. Caselli took the
holeshot and led the entire race, increasing his lead each lap. His
only mistake throughout the race occurred when he washed out the
front end on the first lap, but Caselli quickly recovered to still
finish the lap with a 25 second lead. The FMF/KTM Team had Caselli
and teammate Mike Brown pit once for gas near the end of the race to
ensure the riders would have enough fuel to reach the finish.

While
Caselli held the lead out front, Brown bounced back and forth inside
the top three, battling with Still Performance/KTM rider Kevin
Rookstool. Near the end of the race Brown struggled with arm pump and
dropped a few positions to eventually finish 5^th.
Rookstool took a spill halfway through the race and recovered to
finish behind Brown in 6^th.
Caselli took home the win by 1 minute and 1 second over the 2^nd
place ride of Kyle Summers.

“We
are very happy with the results today. Caselli is exactly where we
expected him to be and his new training program is paying off. Brown
was also inside the top three for most of the race and we feel both
of our riders will be top competitors throughout this series. As
devastating as this weekend has been, it is welcoming for Caselli to
win in honor of our friend Nathan Woods,” remarked Antti Kallonen,
Factory FMF/KTM Team Manager.

After
rearranging the race schedule on Saturday, WORCS officials decided to
give each rider 24 points for Saturday, with the exception of Woods
who was awarded 25 points for Saturday and 25 more for Sunday.
Fittingly then, at the end of the day it is Woods who will lead the
series heading to the next round, as he has done many times before.

Next
Event: February 26-27, 2011
– Primm, NV

Overall
Race Results –

1. 
   

   Kurt
   Caselli – KTM
   

   
   


2. 
   

   Kyle
   Summers
   

   
   


3. 
   

   Bobby
   Garrison
   

   
   


4. 
   

   Taylor
   Roberts

   
   


5. 
   

   Mike
   Brown – KTM
   

   
   


6. 
   

   Kevin
   Rookstool – KTM

   
   


7. 
   

   Bobby
   Bonds

   
   


8. 
   

   Robbie
   Bell
   

   
   


9. 
   

   Destry
   Abbott
   

   
   


10. 
    

    Brendan
    Ritzman
    

    
    

Overall
Points –

1. 
   

   Nathan
   Woods – 50

   
   


2. 
   

   Kurt
   Caselli – 49
   

   
   


3. 
   

   Kyle
   Summers – 46
   

   
   


4. 
   

   Bobby
   Garrison – 44
   

   
   


5. 
   

   Taylor
   Roberts – 42
   

   
   


6. 
   

   Mike
   Brown – 40
   

   
   


7. 
   

   Kevin
   Rookstool – 39
   

   
   


8. 
   

   Bobby
   Bonds – 38
   

   
   


9. 
   

   Robbie
   Bell – 37
   

   
   


10. 
    

    Destry
    Abbott – 36