IN
THE
WIND
P54
Robert Wins Third Straight Sprint Hero
T
aylor Robert extended his win
streak to three in the AMA
Sprint Hero Racing Series. His
latest success came in round
three held at Mesquite MX in
Mesquite, Nevada, May 11-12.
The Red Bull KTM Team rider
held off a pesky Zach Bell (Preci-
sion Concepts/Kawasaki Team
Green) to give Robert a perfect
record in both the 2019 WORCS
and Sprint Hero Championships.
Dante Oliveira snagged the last
spot on the podium, while Gary
Sutherlin and Austin Walton com-
pleted the top five overall.
The two-day event also acted
as a round of the AMA West
Coast ISDE Qualifier series. As a
result, a slight format change was
required with the two types of
tests—one on the motocross track
and one on the off-road section—
held in alternating order with six
tests each day.
Rain prior to the event washed
out some of the motocross track,
and standing water forced of-
ficials to modify the layout. The
rain benefitted the sandy off-road
sections, though, making for
perfect dirt. Both days featured
sunny skies with temperatures in
the 80s.
Robert ran away with nearly all
of the tests on Saturday, but Bell
kept him honest, winning one mo-
tocross test on Saturday, and all
three on Sunday. A crash by Bell
on Saturday, however, secured
Robert his third consecutive win.
Robert enjoyed the different for-
mat as he celebrated yet another
victory.
"Alternating back and forth
helped keep things fresh, and
I really liked it this weekend,"
said Robert. "The weekend ran
super smooth, the track was
awesome, and I was stoked. The
rain made the off-road section so
good. There's so much sand out
there that you really can't water
that stuff enough. It made the
motocross track a little sloppy,
but it wasn't anything we couldn't
handle. All in all, it was a good
weekend."
Hadn't it been for his spill on
Saturday, Bell and his Kawasaki
would have definitely been a more
significant challenge for the overall
victory. While Robert domi-
Taylor Robert took
the overall win at
the combined Sprint
Hero and ISDE
West Qualifier in
Mesquite, Nevada.
PHOTOS: HARLEY FOLEY
