Reigning WORCS Champion Robby Bell suffers a rare failure at the Mesquite, Nevada, WORCS round.
I was fired up for the deep sand of Mesquite, Nevada, the sixth round of the WORCS series, last weekend. Eric Yorba and Dalton Shirey have been bringing it in the sand recently, and I really wanted some redemption after what I felt had been a bit of a dry spell for me, having not garnered a victory since mid-February.
The start to my race couldn’t have gone too much better as I was just edged out for the holeshot by Eric. I tried to cut underneath him in the first corner, hoping his momentum would carry him wide, but he held a good line and controlled the beginning of the race.
In the sand sections that made up the majority of the course, it can, at times, be a little easier to follow a rider, as you can see which lines work out for the leader and where to take a different option, and I felt really comfortable and relaxed riding behind Yorba. I had a couple “nearly” passes in a few sections but couldn’t quite get enough of a run to make the move. Each time I’d make a failed pass attempt and drop back a second or two to regroup, I could feel that Dalton Shirey was right on my heels, looking to make a move of his own.
I was just couple seconds behind Eric, regrouping before another charge at the lead, when he gave me a bit of a gift by losing his front end and falling to the ground in a left-handed corner. Shirey must have had an issue on that lap as well because I suddenly had a bit of breathing room and at the close of the second lap I saw that Colton Udall was now running second.
I felt really confident and comfortable everywhere on the course, my bike was working really well in the rough and sandy conditions, and I began to slowly stretch away from Colton. Just past the halfway point of the race—after our pit stops to refuel—I had pulled out over 30 seconds on the field as Eric, Dalton and Colton fought over second position. I’d noticed that Eric and Dalton had a good pace going, even reeling me in a few different laps, but we were getting to the point in the race—the 90-minute mark—where endurance and consistency would make the difference as to who would stay strong to the finish, and I felt like I was getting smoother and stronger. That’s when tragedy struck.
With just a few laps to go, I suddenly felt like my bike wasn’t pulling quite as hard, but I’d hoped it was just my imagination. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all in my head. About a quarter of a lap later my bike suddenly popped and bogged, then died completely, and I rolled to a stop along the side of the course. As it turned out, either a crazy-sharp rock or tree branch had hit my radiator hose, splitting it and causing all of the coolant to leak out, with the result being that my bike overheated, forcing me to pull out of the race.
It’s tough to explain how disappointed I was, sitting there on the side of the track. Of course there’s no guarantee I would have won, but I felt I was in control, and I was so bummed not only for myself but for the entire team, which has worked so hard this year. With Dalton inheriting the lead, all I could think of was that I’d lost not only the race win, but the points lead along with it. Fortunately, though, I’d completed over half the laps, so I ended up getting a finish rather than a DNF, which earned me some points and helped to console me somewhat as I still hold a small points lead with three rounds to go.
I want to thank my mechanic Phil, suspension tech John, my wife (and McKenna), my family, all of my personal supporters—Precision Concepts, MSR, Shoei, Sidi, 100%, EVS, USWE, Focus apparel, BRP, RAD custom graphics, GoPro, A’ME grips, IWC motorsports, ATP mechanix, Rekluse, CryoHeat, and the MotoXerciser—and all of our race team sponsors for the continued support. I can’t wait for Cedar City in a few weeks’ time for another chance to turn things around.
Robby Bell
robbybellracing.com
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