Mitch Guthrie Jr Takes WORCS SxS Pro Win

Posted on March 18, 2014

Lake Havasu City, AZ – The 2014 Rocky Mountain ATV MC WORCS Series presented by Motoworks and Dirtwheels hosted round three of the nine round racing series at Crazy Horse Camp ground located in beautiful Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Young and upcoming racer Mitch Gutherie Jr. captured his first SxS Pro win followed by defending SxS Champion Beau Baron and former SxS Champion Ryan Piplic who rounded out the WORCS Racing SxS Pro Podium.

80-degree temperatures, clear skies, and a gusty breeze that kept the dust down greeted a record number of SxS drivers at the Lake Havasu WORCS Racing event. A total of 79 SxS racers entered WORCS Racing Round 3 to compete for the top spot on the podium. For the first time this season, the SxS race was split between two races; the SxS 1000 Class would start at 2:25 and the SxS Pro Class would race later in the evening making for two exciting events to watch.

In the WORCS Racing Pro SxS Class, Mitch Guthrie Jr earned his first SxS Pro race at Lake Havasu WORCS. Son of 5x defending King of the Hammers SxS Champion, Mitch Guthrie, Mitch Guthrie Jr. knows his way around a SxS, and he has proven that by being one of the youngest and fastest SxS drivers in the WORCS Racing SxS Pro Class. After winning the SxS Production 1000 Class Championship last year, Mitch Guthrie Jr. made his WORCS Racing Pro SxS Racing debut in 2014 and has earned two out of three WORCS podium finishes.

In Lake Havasu, Mitch Guthrie Jr. got a decent start off the line and was battling with Beau Baron for the first place position. Guthrie Jr. was able to make the pass on Beau Baron by launching his Polaris RZR XP 1000 over the famous lagoon jump. From there, Guthrie Jr. began to check out on the rest of the field and would lead until the finish.

“It was a good race but a tough one. I hit the lagoon jump and got the lead after a little bit. I ran away with it and drove my own race, so I am stoked to get the win today. It is my first win in pro and I know it will do me well in points and I am just ecstatic,” said Guthrie after taking his win today

Finishing second was defending SxS Champion Beau Baron in his Sparks Racing Polaris RZR XP 1000. Baron was able to grab the holeshot and early lead, but fell back to second place at the lagoon jump on the first lap when he chose to go around the jump giving Mitch Guthrie, Jr. the number one spot. Baron put on a hard charge and battled with RJ Anderson throughout the race until Anderson would break down. Baron would also experience some mechanical difficulties when he lost his brakes slowing his charge on Guthrie Jr. Unable to catch Guthrie Jr., Beau Baron settled in to earn the second spot on the WORCS Racing Pro SxS Podium.

Finishing in the third position was a proud new father of twins Ryan Piplic. The Polaris RZR XP 1000 driver ran the first two laps in fourth place before making the pass for third. Piplic held on to the third spot for the remainder of the seven lap race to earn the final spot on the WORCS Racing Pro SxS Podium.

In the WORCS Racing SxS 1000 Class, Keith Johnson earned the win in his first ever SxS race. The win wouldn’t come easily as there were many other racers fighting for the top spot on the podium.

Sara Price got off to a great start by grabbing the holeshot in her Polaris RZR. Price lead the first three laps with Mike Gardner and Keith Johnson following close behind. Unfortunately for Price, she experienced mechanical issues taking her out of the race on the fourth lap leaving the door open for Mike Gardner to take over the lead.

Mike Gardner lead the race for lap four and five until he too would run into mechanical issues slowing his pace back to sixth. Keith Johnson then took over the lead and brought home his first SxS win that he dedicated to his brother Casey Johnson who passed away several years ago. Keith Johnson was able to take his brother Casey to the top of podium once again as he ran Casey’s number 312 on his Polaris RZR.

Finishing second was Can-Am’s Kyle Melville racing his Can-Am Maverick followed by Alfredo Ramirez who both worked their way up from the middle of the pack to place top three in the SxS 1000 class.

Danny Rosenzweig earned his third consecutive win in the WORCS Racing SxS 850 Class at Lake Havasu WORCS. Rosenzweig finished three minutes ahead of second place and he currently holds down the WORCS SxS 850 class points lead driving his John Deere Gator RSX 850i.

Nate Longley made the drive over from New Mexico to race his first WORCS race of the season competing in the WORCS SxS Sport Class. Longley would take the holeshot and lead the entire six-lap race to earn the win. Finishing second was the Warrior Strong team followed by James Jaramillo.

With round three of the WORCS Series in the history books, the racing series will head to another “fan favorite” track in Hurricane, UT at Sand Hollow Track on April 11th.