IN
THE
WIND
P48
SUTHERLIN'S WIN, BELL'S CHAMPIONSHIP
P
recision Concept's Robby
Bell reclaimed the number
one plate with a second-place
finish at round eight of the 2015
Rocky Mountain MC World
Off-Road Championship Se-
ries (WORCS) presented by
Maxxis and Dirt Bike. KTM's
Gary Sutherlin dominated the
hilly course of Glen Helen for
the win, followed by Bell. Justin
Jones made an impressive re-
turn to racing aboard his Hinson
Honda, and put his home court
advantage to work en route to
a third-place finish. In the Pro
2 division, Zip-Ty Husqvarna's
Dalton Shirey also clinched the
Pro 2 Championship with his
sixth win of the season.
WORCS racers were greeted
to near record heat in the triple
digits at Glen Helen in Southern
California, but despite the brutal
conditions the WORCS crew
was determined to not let dust
be an issue, and kept several
water trucks going non-stop
throughout the weekend. There
were three Pro sections added
in for the main event: a single-
track down the backside of
Yamaha Hill, a drop-off in front
of the Glen Helen sign, and a
firewood pit, all of which played
havoc on the racers each lap.
Sutherlin jumped out to the
early lead on the first lap. Once
out front, the defending cham-
pion never looked back; he
quickly began to build his lead,
which he extended to nearly a
minute at the checkered flag.
"I got a third-place start and
made real quick work of get-
ting past two guys in that little
off-road section," Sutherlin said.
"Once I got out front, I basi-
cally hit my line and it was pretty
much a drama-free race today."
Despite his commanding win,
he couldn't stop Bell from claim-
ing the championship.
"Hats off to Robby Bell,"
Sutherlin said. "I know he had
a big get off at Glen Helen
and hurt himself this summer.
The championships come with
adversity, and you keep trying to
land on top, but my goal for the
rest of the year is to keep win-
ning races, and I look forward to
2016."
Bell's crash at Glen Helen
earlier in the summer was the
greatest threat to his 2015
championship. Bell smashed
his face on the handlebar after
over-jumping a tabletop, break-
Gary Sutherlin
took a dominant
victory at the
Glen Helen
WORCS, but it
wasn't enough
to hold on to
his number one
plate.
