It was a mixed day for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Austin Walton, who salvaged a top-five finish at the opening round of the 2022 World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) despite a podium-worthy performance in Primm, Nevada.
Walton didn’t get off to the best start but he powered his FX 450 into third on the opening lap. Moving into second on lap two, he dialed in a solid pace that kept him inside the podium battle for most of the two-hour race. While running third on the final lap, Walton made a mistake and went down in the final pass of the “pro only” rock section, resulting in costly damage to his front brake system. Troubleshooting the issue himself, Walton was able to piece together a solution that allowed him to finish the race and salvage solid championship points with a top-five result at Round 1.
Austin Walton: “I was running some good laps and felt strong at the season opener. There were a couple things that I felt like I could work on but that’s the part of working out the kinks at the beginning of the season. All-in-all, I was able to keep a good pace going – I was running third towards the end of the race and all I had to do is get through the rocks one more time and I made kind of a bone-head mistake and looped the bike out. Due to that, my front brake was locked up and it took a while before I was able to find the solution and I ended up having to snip the brake line to finish out the race. I was able to salvage fifth place, which is not a bad position for what happened, but I’m definitely hungry for more.”
Next Round: Devore, California – February 18-20, 2022
Pro (MC) Round 1 Results
1. Dante Oliveira (KTM)
2. Cole Martinez (HON)
3. Trevor Stewart (YAM)
…
5. Austin Walton – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
6. Justin Hoeft (HQV)
5. Austin Walton – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
6. Justin Hoeft (HQV)
