Race Report: 2015 WORCS Round 7 | Olympia
Robby Bell | 8th place
The WORCS X would be a quick event, especially by WORCS standards, lasting less than fifteen minutes, so a start would be crucial. When the green flag waved Justin got going quickly, rounding the first turn in third, and he immediately pushed his way into second behind Eric Yorba. Justin was looking to get right up to the back of Yorba, but at the close of the first lap he was taken by surprise by Ty Tremaine, who pushed him wide into the pole of the finish line arch. Gary Sutherlin was right behind the two and took advantage as Justin tried to get back on course, taking third place away. Meanwhile Robby had gated just inside the top ten and worked into eighth place as the first lap came to a close.
Justin had a solid weekend, finishing fifth in both the WORCS X event and in Sunday’s pro race, and moved himself into third place in the championship standings. | p/c: Harlen Foley
Halfway through the second lap there was a split-line section in the back of the course and Justin took the option to the left, while fifth-place Ricky Russell took the line to the right, which was a bit faster, and was able to make the move. From there Justin settled in and pushed hard to try to make a charge back at the riders ahead of him, but the race went by in a flash and he had to settle for fifth. Robby was able to maintain eighth for the length of the race and earned solid points to maintain his championship lead.
Click the image to view Robby’s GoPro footage from WORCS X.
10. Blayne Thompson
Russell was able to find his way around Justin on the first lap, and Justin focussed on following the Washington native through the trees. Justin was running a good pace, but a few riders coming up behind him were just a little quicker in the tight trees, forcing Justin back to fifth place by the halfway mark. After starting, third Robby’s main goal was to run up front early on to stay out of the thickest dust, but he didn’t want to get mixed up in any battles and one-by-one he would make it fairly easy on the riders behind to overtake him, eventually settling into seventh.
Robby was still recovering from a horrible crash three weeks prior to Washington. He rode safe all weekend in order to score points towards the championship while he continued to heal. | photo credit: Harlen Foley
As the laps wound down Justin was starting to feel a little pressure from the late-charging Travis Coy, and despite suffering a last-lap run-in with a tree, Justin was able to up his pace and hold on to a very respectable fifth. Robby, meanwhile, maintained a safe and comfortable pace to hold on to seventh place and again salvage points towards the title. Justin’s finishes leaped him from fifth into third place in the standings, while Robby earned enough points to have the opportunity to clinch the title as the series heads to Glen Helen in late September.
10. Jesse Lundin
