The 2006 WORCS National ATV Tour hit Racetown 395 in Adelanto
Robert Boop
With over 450 entries competing in 30 classes. Among them, 16-year-old Justin Waters from Joseph OR. Waters again put Yamaha on the podium repeatedly this round, taking first in Open A, third in Stock A and second in the ProAm final on Sunday.
Sunday’s Pro/ProAm final was exciting, as Waters had built a ProAm lead of more than three minutes at the half way point of the 90-minute race. In fact, he was running times that would have had him among the Top 5 Pro finishers. However, riding hard into the log section caused a major impact on a front tire. He dropped to third while his crew changed the tire.
Justin’s crew chief, Dean Waters, admitted, “We made a last-minute tire change. If we had been running Tireballs like we usually do, he wouldn’t have had that tire go down. He would probably have been on top of the podium. It was my mistake, off the track. He had an amazing run going.”
Justin made up almost 10 seconds each lap after that and did come back into second, but ran out of time to catch the class leader. He ultimately finished as the second place ProAm by less than two minutes, seventh overall. His finish stretches his ProAm points lead to 21, with five more events to go.
Waters made a significant change for this event, with the addition of Progressive Suspension as a sponsor of his YFZ450 for the Open divisions.
About the change to Progressive, Waters commented, “Before the race, we spent some time doing shock set up and fine-tuning with Progressive. This track has a lot of motocross and big jumps, so we knew that would make suspension important. As we found out later, the off-road part got really rough and suspension was key. I was really glad to have Progressive under me as the day went on.”
Mike Johns, Director of Marketing and Media Relations for Progressive Suspension, said, “Justin is what we were looking for in a rider to sponsor. He is an up-and-comer, with a serious future in this sport.” He added, “We want to prove the 6th Sense™ Shock and our patented Control Valve Technology™ for off-road and recreational applications. Justin’s riding style and the WORCS series specifically gives us the opportunity to test on a wide variety of tough terrain and demanding conditions. Justin gives us critical feedback that allows our engineers to build a better performing shock… It’s a perfect partnership.”
Next, Justin and the WORCS tour heads to Payette Idaho for Round 5. Waters is already working to build on Adelanto’s success and improve his performance. As he considers entering the Pro ranks in the 2007 season, each race, podium and championship title is becoming more important.
“I have started a new training program. I need to be able to maintain my fastest lap times through the full 90 minutes. I want a Top 5 overall on Sunday.”
Justin’s sponsors include Yamaha, Progressive Suspension, Epic Suspension, Kenda Tires, Douglas Wheels, DMC Exhaust, AC Racing, Tireballs, Ricky Stator, Regina Chains, Motorex, DP Brakes, Gaerne, Scott Goggles, Rocky Mountain ATV and Off-Road.com.
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