H&M Motorsport's Beau Baron and David Haagsma Rule 2012 WORCS ATV Opener
- 10 Feb 2012
"We feel great following round one. Our goal was to go out and show these guys we are serious about our program and getting both guys on the podium proved that." Those are the words of Jason Reed, H&M Motorsports' Marketing/PR Rep., and the two guys he mentions are Beau Baron and David Haagsma. The two H&M Motorsport ATV combatants kicked-off their season in grand style, with Baron taking the top of the podium and teammate Haagsma joining him on the third tier. Making it sweeter still was that this was Haagsma's first ever pro podium finish. A prodigious beginning indeed. The World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) started their 2012 season at Glen Helen Raceway last weekend. Foul rainy weather throughout Friday and Saturday threatened to put the kibosh on the big show. Fortunately, the weather cleared and the track began to dry out just in time for Sunday's pro main event. Yet, not before the weather sacred the track, which then required some tweaking. The course was changed up a bit, and now included a very malicious section tagged WORCS-X. This amusing sounding addition featured huge tractor tires that proved to be anything but amusing for many riders the first few laps. The errant section was corrected by the fourth lap, which was three laps too late for some riders.
Off the line, Haagsma grabbed the hole-shot, with Baron close behind in second. In the second lap, Baron was able to take the lead after Haagsma got hung up in the WORCS-X section. "I made it through that section pretty easily when a lot of other people had problems. I was kind of lucky that way because it allowed me to get ahead and relax a little and stay focused," said Baron. Despite intense pressure, Baron held his lead for the final laps to secure the first win of the 2012 WORCS series for his team. Out of the gate Haagsma was nothing short of impressive as he shot off the line and grabbed the lap-one lead. After his WORCS-X section run-in he remounted a charge and battled his way to the number three spot before crossing the finish line.
"I got a great start! I really have to thank Curtis Sparks and Maxxis Tires for that. I pulled everyone and got a clean lap in. After I got hung up, I just tried to make up time and kept passing people. It felt awesome to finish on the podium. I wish I could have been up there battling for the win, but I am pretty happy with third right now," remarked Haagsma. "This is our first year off on our own," Reed told K&N. "Teaming up with MCR Racing last year taught us the infrastructure that we needed to achieve, and the goals we needed to set going into our first full year as a Pro team in a tough series. If we had to change anything from last year, it would be what we have already worked on, and continue to work on, and that's pre-testing with our equipment and trying to keep David and Beau focused. That way they can go out and do their job and win some races." "We are ready and we are approaching 2012 just liked we approached the first race - we're going out to win. We have a tremendous amount of great sponsors behind us, including K&N Filters who provides the best filters in the business. We've never suffered a DNF with any air related issues, and we can't be happier to have them behind our program." Round two of the 2012 WORCS series is scheduled for February 11th - 12th at Buffalo Bill's Casino and Resort where H&M Motorsport's Beau Baron and David Haagsma will once again be looking to own the podium. "We're ready. We got off to a great start and we are going to keep the ball rolling and try and stay up front for points and keep the Championship chase alive. Were going for the 2012 WORCS Pro Championship, plain and simple." Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
