LAKE HAVASU WORCS RACE

Bell passed Ramirez for the lead on the first lap.

Robby Bell made it four in a row at the Havasu round of the WORCS off-road GP series, winning after leading virtually the whole way. With his previous three victories, this puts him in easy command of the series as it approaches the halfway point. The Havasu course is known for its beauty and brutality and winning it is a milestone in any rider’s career.

The race started with Red Bull KTM’s Ivan Ramirez pulling a holeshot despite illness and injury. His ownership didn’t last long, and Bell took over about a quarter of the way through the first lap. Hinson Honda rider Justin Jones had a hard time starting his bike, but then had a spectacular first lap to put himself in second. Then he tracked down Bell, and the two of them gapped the field.

Justin Jones was second on the day and is second in the points.

Third place remained in the hands of Ramirez until he decided that he had enough. A bout with food poisoning during the week made it impossible to continue, throwing third place up for grabs. It was a battle between Dylan Schmoke, Travis Coy and Blayne Thompson. Within a few laps, Justin Seeds joined in the battle.

In the meantime, Dalton Shirey was having his way with the Pro 2 class, riding a Husky two-stroke. He pulled the holeshot of the second wave and established a safe lead. The Pro 2 class has an odd mix of motorcycles that, as it turned out, had a number of two-strokes in this round. Behind them, the Pro 2 Lights, which is a class designed for two-strokes, had Logan Chambers in front followed by Dante Oliveria on a KTM 125. Third place in that class belonged to Mitch Anderson, who was one of the handful of riders who made the overnight drive from the Big 6 race at 29 Palms. Anderson was third in class there, too.

Blayne Thompson drove from 29 Palms after finishing second at the Big 6 race. there.

By the last 30 minutes of the two-hour race, things had settled down. Bell escaped from Jones, Travis Coy dropped out with mechanical trouble and Blayne Thompson (another 29 Palms migration) had third. Seeds closed on Thompson, but not enough to be a threat. Bell now has a 22-point lead over Jones in the Pro class. The next WORCS race will be in Hurricane, Utah on April 17. For results, go to www.worcsracing.com.