Robby Bell enjoyed a clean sweep, winning all four races he entered at round four of the Big 6 AMA West Coast Grand Prix Series aboard his THR Motorsports/Monster Energy/Precision Concepts Kawasaki KX450F. The sole round of the eight-race series held outside of Southern California (though it almost qualifies, being in Primm, Nevada), it provides a unique set of challenges for both the rider and his mechanic.
“The Shamrocks Motorcycle Club marked out an enjoyable course with a balanced mix of twisty sand whoops and high-speed, choppy straightaway’s,” Bell shared. “Bike setup would be a compromise: too stiff and the chop will rip your hands apart, but too soft and the deep whoops will be more than happy to kick your back end out from under you. I felt my bike was set up perfectly for the course conditions and was ready to get out there.”
As usual at GP races, the Unclassified race was the first event of the weekend, and Bell established a pattern that he’d follow both days.
“Unclassified went well for me,” he said, “as instead of my usual routine of just cruising around, I felt good enough to jump out front and win, passing both of the Honda boys (Timmy Weigand and Colton Udall) and hopefully, from my point of view, setting the stage for the races to follow.”
A few hours later, Bell lined up for the Heavyweight Expert event on his all-conquering KX prepared by Bob Bell of Precision Concepts. After a somewhat slow start to deal with vision issues after getting doused while following Weigand through a water puddle, Bell marched on to win by about 35 seconds over Gordon Ward, Weigand, Udall and Justin Seeds.
Bell’s final race for Saturday was Four-stroke Heavyweight Expert, where he set himself a goal: “Get the holeshot and make it easier on myself.”
Unfortunately, that didn’t work out as he found himself almost getting taken out in the first turn, but he quickly passed a few competitors to settle into third behind Weigand and Udall. After sizing them up, he cut inside Udall for second in one turn and then sailed into the lead after Weigand went down in another turn. Chalk up another one for Bell followed by Weigand, Udall, Jason Parsons and Steven Gibson.
On Sunday, Bell had only the $2000 two-hour Pro race, and he was confident of another good result. After some banging around in the first turn, he found himself in third, chasing Udall and Mark Samuels, but Bell put in some good moves to grab the lead before long.
“I maintained about 15 seconds to the hallway point of the race as we were to come in for our only pit stops and as I exited the pit, I saw my chance to sprint and get out of visual range, which would hopefully demoralize [Udall] and have him settle for second,” Bell confided. “I pushed hard and came around the next lap with almost 30 seconds and from there only continued to pull away to almost 50 seconds.”
From there, Bell was able to control the race, taking his fourth victory of the weekend followed by Weigand.
“I have to admit being so dominant this weekend felt amazing; I’ve been working for it all year and to finally get the results I’ve wanted has really been a shot in the arm for me.
“It’s definitely gratifying to repay all of my sponsors with a result like this. From here, I have a week off and then [it’s off to] the Racetown WORCS event, followed shortly by the Baja 500, and I’m truly going to be working hard to keep this momentum going. Winning really is addicting!”
Big 6 AMA West Coast Grand Prix Series, Round Four results:
Saturday, Unclassified
1. Robby Bell (THR Motorsports Kawasaki KX450F)
2. Timmy Weigand (Honda CRF450X)
3. Colton Udall (Honda CRF450X)
4. Jason Parsons (Kawasaki KX450F)
5. Justin Seeds (Kawasaki KX450F)
Saturday, Heavyweight Expert
1. Robby Bell (THR Motorsports Kawasaki KX450F)
2. Gordon Ward (Yamaha YZ450F)
3. Timmy Weigand (Honda CRF450X)
4. Colton Udall (Honda CRF450X)
5. Justin Seeds (Kawasaki KX450F)
Saturday, Four-stroke Heavyweight Expert
1. Robby Bell (THR Motorsports Kawasaki KX450F)
2. Timmy Weigand (Honda CRF450X)
3. Colton Udall (Honda CRF450X)
4. Jason Parsons (Kawasaki KX450F)
5. Steven Gibson (Kawasaki KX250F)
Sunday, Pro
1. Robby Bell (THR Motorsports Kawasaki KX450F)
2. Timmy Weigand (Honda CRF450X)
3. Colton Udall (Honda CRF450X)
For more information and updates on the THR Motorsports Team, visit the THR Motorsports Web site at www.thrmotorsports.com or like us on Facebook. THR Motorsports thanks and is proud to represent Monster Energy, Kawasaki, Hoosier Precision Machining, Precision Concepts, John Burr Cycles, FMF, IMS, Dunlop, VP Racing Fuels, LAPC, ZLT, Kal-Gard, BRP, Zip-Ty, and KLeN.