2021 WORCS SXS Round Four Results

Michelle Baird | April 15, 2021

David Haagsma takes two Pro SXS podium finishes at round four of WORCS Racing at Honolulu Hills in Taft, California.

By Harlen Foley

Taft, CA – David Haagsma led a Polaris sweep and earned his first win of the year in the SXS Pro Production class during the fourth round of the ATV MC WORCS Series presented by Polaris RZR Series. Cayden MacCachren won the SXS Pro Stock race. The event was held at Honolulu Hills Raceway.

Dry conditions in the San Joaquin Valley made for combination of dusty and muddy conditions as the WORCS staff worked non-stop watering the six mile long track. Starting positions were key and Haagsma made the most of his Polaris RZR Turbo S’ power at the start of the Pro Production race. After taking the holeshot, he dominated the race. Beau Baron was second, ahead of Shawn Saxton on the Polaris sweep of the podium.

“I got the holeshot and with this track, with the dust, and how fast it is, I knew I had a good shot,” said Haagsma. “I got a good lead early and I just watched Beau and based my speed off of him.”

Baron started sixth, and was held up early in traffic. After getting to second, he began to cut into Haagsma’s lead, though he settled for second in the end. Points are key right now for Baron and with one DNS on his record, he needs all of them he can get to make a run at the title. “Davy had a 30-second gap, and while I cut it down toward the end of the race, he drove great and he knew what he had to do,” said Baron. “I took a second and I’m good with it.”

Saxton got stuck in the dust early after starting on the second row. Despite catching the front pack, Saxton wisely backed it down late in the race and held on for the final spot on the podium. “I got a good start on my row and on the second lap we hit the dust,” said Saxton. “So, once I got to third, I tried to play it safe and not push it in the conditions. Beau and Davy put in a good race, so I was there for the end for points.”

In SXS Pro Stock, Haagsma again took the holeshot, this time in his Polaris RZR RS1, but MacCachren was right there. After experiencing issues with his machine on the first lap, Haagsma pulled over, handing the lead to MacCachren on lap two and that was all the young star needed. Though Haagsma got his machine refired and back into contention, MacCachren held on for his third consecutive victory. Haagsma was second, ahead of Baron as Polaris machines finished their domination of the weekend.

“This is three in a row for us which is insane; it’s too bad Davy is a super good driver and he’s still leading the points so we have to keep going and try to catch him,” said MacCachren with a laugh. “We’ll just keep clicking off these wins and see what happens.”

Haagsma hit a square edge in a turn on the first lap and it caused havoc with his machine’s computer system. He lost power steering first and got that back after shutting off and refiring. Then he lost front wheel drive. So, he had pulled off to try to remedy the machine’s issues. Though he got back out with a fully functional ride, he didn’t have anything for MacCachren.

“I got a spot where I could pull off and try to get it restarted, so I let Cayden go past and followed him,” said Haagsma. “Unfortunately, I gave him way too much of an advantage and he’s too good a driver to give him any time. I tried to catch him, but the pace was a little too gnarly so I hung on for second.”

Baron took third early in the contest and ran the final spot on the podium for the rest of the race. The third-place finish marked his third podium of the weekend, which included a victory in Pro ATV.

“Back on the box for the third time and I am pumped about it,” exclaimed Baron. “I rode around by myself today in third place. I was having trouble getting my car to rev up. I was 600 rpm off what I normally run, so I’m just happy to be on the box.”

The next race for the WORCS SXS classes is scheduled for June 4-6 at Cache Valley MX Park in Idaho.

Video | WORCS SXS Dirt Diaries, 2021 Round 4 at Taft, CA