Bell Blasts To NGPC Win
R
ound four of the FMF AMA
National Grand Prix Cham-
pionship (NGPC) Series headed
to Twentynine Palms for the 43rd
Annual Hilltoppers Grand Prix,
where riders geared up (quite
literally) for the fast, sweeping
desert venue. The Precision Con-
cepts Racing Kawasakis seemed
to find the muscle and the speed
to dominate the day, with Zach
Bell and Blayne Thompson going
1-2 overall and 250cc racer Clay
Hengeveld taking the Pro II win.
The Precision Concepts Kawa-
saki duo headed the entire race,
with Thompson grabbing the
holeshot, followed closely by his
teammate, Bell. But it wasn't long
before Bell took over the lead and
checked out for the next hour
and a half until the checkered
flag. "We were all hauling butt
all day long. It was a little scary
going that fast, but we got the
job done," said Bell. "The track
was super smooth. I really wasn't
expecting for the whole track to
be grated. At first I was going to
the outsides thinking that would
be the faster line and I found my-
self later in the end, kinda cutting
straight across the track and in-
side lines. It's actually a lot easier
on my body and on the bike.
"It was a good weekend for all
of us on the team. I can't thank
these guys enough."
For Thompson, it wasn't quite
as smooth-sailing, especially with
a late-race crash, but he still man-
aged to hold off Dalton Shirey for
second.
"We got off to the holeshot.
That was my first one all year,"
Thompson said. "We were com-
ing out swingin' on that one and
my teammate Zach ended up
getting around me, but nothing
we could do about it. I made sure
we stayed in that second spot
IN
THE
WIND
P50
Zach Bell wins every
time he shows up
to a National GP.
He took his second
win of the season at
Twentynine Palms.
PHOTOS BY JEAN TURNER
