There was no better way for new WORCS Champion Robby Bell to finish the year than with a win at the series finale in Primm.
I wanted to finish the WORCS series on a high and get back to my winning ways, and the perfectly damp sand at Buffalo Bill’s Resort & Casino in Primm, Nevada, on October 18, offered the perfect platform.
I lined up in the middle of the start line for the dead engine start and got a bit of encouragement from my mechanic Phil when he said my race bike was about the easiest bike to start that he’d had experience with; that basically meant that if I didn’t get the holeshot, I’d messed something up pretty bad and should reconsider what I’ve done with my life up to now.
True to expectation, I have never had a bike start up as quickly as mine did when that green flag flew into the air. I believe my bike was fired and moving forward before I’d even finished my kick, and it was probably a good thing for the riders to my left that I got such a good jump because I flew off the line in such a rush and entirely off balance, pulling a “crazy Ivan” maneuver that sent me halfway across the width of the start straight. I regained my balance and stayed hard on the throttle, owning the first turn for myself, and I had plans of stretching away and putting my stamp on the race.
Justin Jones had other thoughts in mind as he charged up from a poor start and passed me on the second lap. He was flat-out flying, and I did my best to increase my pace to match him, but I couldn’t quite find his speed. I didn’t panic; I felt confident that I would be able to build into the race and close the distance. Plus, I was building a little bit of a gap over Gary Sutherlin, who had started right behind me, so I felt I was still in a good position so long as Jones didn’t get too far away.
Justin had pulled his lead out to about ten seconds, but by the halfway point of the race I could see that I was beginning to turn the tide and put some time back into him. I had closed the gap to just a couple seconds as we came into the pits and my crew decided to pull me in a lap early for gas with the goal of closing the gap over the next lap and passing Justin when he pitted. The plan worked perfectly as my crew got me in and out of the pits incredibly quickly, and on the following lap I had closed up just enough to pass Justin as he pulled in to refuel.
My pit board said “now’s the time to go,” and I pushed to open up a gap. Justin didn’t give up, as he stayed right on me for the next half a lap, but I was finally able to build a slight gap over the following few laps. Though I had pulled a bit of a lead, I had to keep my pace elevated, as I knew Gary was going to be coming on strong at the end of the race; he always does. Indeed, Gary was able to move into second and was putting on a charger, but luckily I had built enough of a lead over him earlier in the race that I was able to hold on until the finish, closing out the WORCS series with a win.
I want to thank all of my personal sponsors: Precision Concepts, MSR, Shoei, Sidi, Spy, EVS, USWE, Focus apparel, FMF, BRP, RAD custom graphics, GoPro, A’ME grips, IWC motorsports, ATP mechanix, Northland motorsports, Rekluse, CryoHeat, and the MotoXerciser, along with all of our fantastic team sponsors. Thanks to my mechanic, Phil, for building yet another fantastic machine, and telling me I’d better get that holeshot. I also want to commend the whole WORCS staff on putting together a great event. I know this particular weekend was a bit taxing for a few different reasons, but they did very well putting together an enjoyable track and a smooth program. Lastly, I want to give a shout out to my teammate Justin Seeds for riding well and taking a solid third place on the day.
I’m so happy to be able to finish the WORCS season on a high and show myself I’m back on form after a difficult summer. I’m looking forward to hitting a couple more grand prix events and the final round of the Best in the Desert series to close out this year and then start building for 2016.
Robby Bell
robbybellracing.com
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