2023 WORCS round 5 — Glen Helen, CA

2023 Glen Helen WORCS Report — 

The ever-present location of Glen Helen hosted the fifth round of the 2023 WORS series. Mid-week showers, cloud cover and cool temperatures kept conditions quite good all weekend. There was even running water in numerous creek locations. The WORCS crew added in a technical single-track canyon—known as the David Knight trail—for Sunday’s two-hour main event. The tight section broke up an otherwise mostly fast, flowing racecourse, and allowed a bit of creativity for the riders.

Tyler Lynn – 2nd place Pro 450

Sunday’s pro race utilized the MX starting gate as the launch pad for the two-hour event. As the gate dropped, Lynn was toward the front of the pack, jostling with Cole Martinez through the initial turns, before settling in to fifth place. The running order stayed pretty stable until the beginning of the second lap, when the riders would hit the tight canyon for the first time. Upon the exiting the section, Mateo Oliveira jumped from third to first, instantly stretching out nearly twenty seconds over Lynn’s teammate—Zach Bell. Tyler had moved up to fourth and pushed hard at the start of the third lap to overtake Martinez for third. From there, Lynn closed up on his teammate, finding the good line through the pro section, and was able to make the move into second place the following lap. Tyler then had a little tightness creep into his arms just before the halfway point, and Bell was able to get back by, putting Tyler third once more.

After the pit, Lynn’s arms freed up and he began to really put on a charge. Tyler made his way back into second place and set to work putting time into Mateo’s lead, which was just shy of thirty seconds. The two riders dropped their lap times each lap over the second hour of racing—Tyler would chip a few seconds off the lead, then Mateo would answer with a faster pace, to which Lynn would ecplise the following lap. As the white flag came out, Tyler had the lead down to just over ten seconds and was within site of the leader through the high-speed pit row. Unfortunately, as the Kawasaki rider pushed hard into the horseshoe corner halfway through the pits, the berm gave way and he fell to the ground. Lynn quickly picked his bike up, but the momentum he’d built was gone. Tyler crossed the line in second place, earning his second podium finish of the season.

tyler lynn at the 2023 glen helen worcs race

Zach Bell – 3rd place Pro 450

Zach rocketed off the line as the 450 pro riders took off at the start of the race. He was neck-and-neck with Trevor Stewart through the Talladega first turn, slotting into second, just behind the Yamaha rider. Bell tailed Stewart closely over the first lap, making the move by in the pro section. Though he thought it was a move for the lead, Oliveira had a slick line through the section, and had overtaken both riders. So, Zach stout in second place as the riders finished out the second lap. Bell showed great speed, matching the leader’s pace the first hour, and battling back and forth with his teammate.

After the pit stop, Bell was in third behind Oliveira and his teammate, and had pulled out over a minute and a half on the fourth place rider. Zach continued to run a strong pace, though some fatigue started to come into his wrist and he just lost the pace of the two leaders. Still, the Team Green rider stayed strong, continuing to pull away from the rest of the field, and earned his first WORCS podium of the season.

zach bell riding his kawasaki kx450x at the 2023 glen helen worcs race

Robby Bell, Team Manager

“Results aside, it was great to see both riders running so well. It’s been up and down at times this year for them, so to see them both at their best was awesome. And to get both riders on the podium was obviously really gratifying as well.

“I feel like this had been coming for Tyler. He’d been searching for something the past few rounds. We made a slight change to the suspension set-up, but more importantly, he just seemed mentally like he found something. That was fun to watch. Even just as a fan, it was great watching him and Mateo going faster and faster each lap that second hour, pushing to their limits. Definitely a bummer Tyler tipped it over at the end, but the effort was fantastic, and it was a great result.

“Similar to Tyler, Zach’s been building toward stronger results the past couple rounds. I think the bike changes we’ve made have helped some. He’s also made some changes with his training and preparation that are seemingly making a difference. Like the NGPC last weekend, Zach stayed stronger much deeper into the race. So, plenty to be positive about, and great for him to earn his first WORCS podium of the season.”

Photos

Credit: Harlen Foley

Tyler Lynn

Zach Bell

Results

Click the link to view results:

• Pro Race Results (Yet to be posted)

• Pro Class Standings

View more results by clicking here to visit the WORCS scoring site.

2023 WORCS Schedule

  1. Jan. 21/22 • Primm, NV*
  2. Feb. 11/12 • Delano, CA*
  3. Mar. 11/12 • Lake Havasu, AZ
  4. Apr. 8/9 • Blythe, CA
  5. May 6/7 • Devore, CA*
  6. May 27/28 • Cedar City, UT*
  7. Sep. 16/17• Vernal, UT*
  8. Oct. 7/8 • Mesquite, NV*
  9. Oct. 21/22 • Primm, NV*
    *combined with ATV and SXS disciplines

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