Round 4 of the Hidden Trails Pro Watercross Tour overtook Sand Hollow State Park and did not disappoint. The rolling red sea of sand, easily mistaken for lava, surrounded a crystal clear lake that provided some of the most interesting story lines of the 2016 tour to date. As the races heated up, so did the temperature reaching almost 110 degrees, something Sand Hollow is beginning to be known for on the National Tour.
This week’s racing started on Friday, which is something new for the tour, and it kicked off with what has turned into a great show on the West Coast in Pro Ski Stock. In Moto 1, Team Mean and Broward Motorsports rider David Cabrera pulled a huge holeshot and never looked back, something that would become a familiar story all weekend long. Cabrera is really rounding into form on the West Coast. Second place in Moto 1 and last week’s winner, Team Kommander rider Derrick Helm had a very solid race making the most of his limited participation on this year’s tour. A familiar face made an appearance this weekend – Rob Flores – and made sure to entertain by grabbing a Moto 1 third place.
Flores succumbed to an injury in Motos 2 and 3 and opened the door for a new face to reach the podium. Moto 2 told the same story with Cabrera and Helm holding down the top two spots. Third place went to Clearwater, FL rider Gage Schoenherr. Schoenherr did even better in the third moto placing second behind Cabrera with Helm rounding out the Top 3.
Pro-Am Runabout Box Stock has had a season of perfection turned in by Sea-Doo and Monster Energy rider Dustin Farthing and nothing would change in Moto 1. Jeff Dyckowski turned in his best finish of the year in that moto, placing second with Judge Motorsports and Yamaha rider Troy Snyder placing third. Snyder had a plan of his own to end Farthing’s domination and did so with wins in Motos 2 and 3 after Farthing had some unexpected motor troubles.
Snyder was kept honest by hard charging Hidden Trails rider Tim Ducat on his RXP-X 300. Ducat made up for a sub par Moto 1 by placing second in Motos 2 and 3. Snyder’s hard work placed him at the top of the podium for the first time this year. Ducat logged his third straight second place podium finish. Dycowski capitalized on Farthing’s bad luck and secured third place overall and for the first time all season Farthing not only missed out on the overall victory but also the podium all together.
Now for the biggest story of the weekend: Pro Ski GP. Pro Force rider Toshi Ohara showed up in Utah to make a statement and he accomplished that. Toshi put down lap after lap of domination after taking over the lead halfway through Moto 1 from Kommander rider Dustin Motzouris. Motzouris ended up second in Moto 1 with fellow Kommander rider David Redinger rounding out the Top 3. Moto 2 told the same story for Toshi, but a mistake on the last lap – missing a merge buoy – put him a lap down. But he had lapped the field up to fifth place, so it didn’t set him back too far. Local Brock Austin showed up big in the second moto to take the win after some bad luck in Moto 1.
Motzouris finished second again in Moto 2 making a strong push for the top spot on the podium. Toshi backed up the storyline of the day in Moto 3 by laying down some of the fastest laps of the weekend and taking the win once again – securing him the overall victory for the weekend. Motzouris took third in the last moto putting him in second place overall. Redinger locked up third place overall in this highly touted class with a big time second place finish in Moto 3. The Pro Ski class has been put on notice with Toshi’s domination and it is exciting to think what this class will show as the season develops.
More bad luck for Mountain Motorsports rider Dustin Farthing rang true just before Moto 1 of Pro Am Runabout GP. Farthing was forced to ride his backup Sea-Doo RXP-X, opening the door for a dominating performance from Hidden Trails Motorsports owner Trey Frame. Frame pulled three huge hole shots on his way to three straight wins. Farthing turned in three consecutive second place finishes to widen his lead on the season standings in the GP class. For the first time this season, Hidden Trails Motorsports put two riders on the podium with Sea-Doo RXP-X rider Tim Ducat rounding out the Top 3.
Judge Motorsports and Broward Motorsports rider Sam Nehme looked like he is on a different level in Sport GP. Nehme’s domination has been artwork this season. He once again widened his lead on the overall point race by taking the overall and turning in a trio of moto wins. Another Judge Motorsport’s rider, Billy Dearman wrapped up a much needed second place overall after some bad luck in the first few rounds of the National Tour. Dearman will be someone to watch out for at the GP season progresses. Like we noted earlier, the racing started on Friday, something Team Faith’s Kelly Smith’s travel agent didn’t get the memo for. After some real hustling to make it to the line on time, Smith turned in a great third place overall on the weekend.
The Hidden Trails Pro Watercross tour turns in the calm lake waters when they move on to Round 5 in New Jersey. The big waves should lead to some big action and we look forward to bringing you the coverage her at The Watercraft Journal.
All images provided by Bob Metheney, and originals can be purchased HERE.
Hidden Trails Pro Watercross National Tour – Round 4 St. George, UT
PRO-AM SKI GP: 1. Toshi Ohara, 2. Dustin Motzouris, 3. David Redinger, 4. Ian Roberts, 5. Tyron Motzouris, 6. Pete Zernik, 7. Derrick Helm, 8. Brock Austin, 9. Aaron Gewecke, 10. Thomas Pagen; PRO-AM R/A BOX STOCK: 1. Troy Snyder, 2. Jeff Dyckowski, 3. Tim Ducat, 4. Dustin Farthing, 5. Billy Dearman; SPORT GP: 1. Sam Nehme, 2. Billy Dearman, 3. Kelly Smith, 4. Aron Terracciano; PRO FREESTYLE: 1. Mark Gomez; PRO-AM SKI STOCK: 1. David Cabrera, 2. Derrick Helm, 3. Gage Schoenherr, 4. Mark Gomez, 5. Rob Flores; PRO-AM RUNABOUT GP: 1. Trey Frame, 2. Dustin Farthing, 3. Tim Ducat; JUNIOR SKI STOCK 10-12 YR: 1. Revin Harris, 2. Devin Farthing, 3. Sammy Nehme, 4. Jack Briscoe; JUNIOR SKI STOCK 13-15 YR: 1. Kyle Disney, 2. Gabe Hooper, 3. Aj Luinstra, 4. Trinity Klecke; VETERAN SKI GP: 1. Pete Zernik, 2. Kevin Redinger, 3. Chris Hagest, 4. Bill Austin, 5. Greg Matta, 6. Dan Masters; AMATEUR SKI STOCK: 1. Gabe Hooper, 2. Brent Disney, 3. Todd Valentino, 4. Aj Luinstra, 5. Travis Greene, 6. Kyle Hawse; SPORT STOCK: 1. Sam Nehme, 2. Hunter Dunn, 3. Gage Schoenherr, 4. Arri Hall-terracciano; RUNABOUT 1000 CC & UNDER: 1. Eric Gabryel, 2. Thomas Pagen, 3. Justin Gabryel; RUNABOUT REC: 1. Eric Gabryel, 2. Justin Gabryel, 3. Sean Miles; AMATEUR SKI GP: 1. Brent Disney, 2. Travis Greene; WOMENS SKI LIMITED: 1. Trinity Klecker; RUNABOUT N/A SPEC: 1. Cameron Frame, 2. Bill Wilson
