Cycle News

IN THE WIND P24 BELL SUPREME AT ELSINORE GP T he promoters behind the historic Lake Elsinore Grand Prix, November 7-8, had lofty ambitions for the 2015 edition. The original plan was to bring the race back to its classic set- ting, running through the streets of Lake Elsinore, but the Califor- nia water shortage limited what the crew at Podium Productions could do. Without the city able to guarantee enough water for the course, the event was almost cancelled, but the deci- sion was made to move the race to the Lake Elsinore motocross track instead. The result was a GP course that utilized the main track, vet track and truck track to offer racers the best of the facility. Although it wasn't what the event promoters were originally hoping for, Harvey Mushman 100 winner Robby Bell found the course to be quite respectable. "For what they had to use, it was run pretty well," Bell said. "The course was good. It wasn't like the traditional course up on the ridges and stuff, but because they were able to water all of it, we were able to race the whole course. When it's up on the dry ridges it's tough to race the whole thing." Although the course started out pretty wet and slippery, the Precision Concepts-backed racer found the conditions to his liking, as he and his teammate Justin Seeds were able to ride to a 1-2 finish. "The race went good," Bell said. "I got off to a fifth-place start. We were all fishtailing the first two laps and I was able to make some passes and get be- hind my teammate, Justin. Once the track dried out, I was able to find a little more speed and reel him in." Bell got Seeds within his sights but didn't have to finish reeling him in. A mistake by Seeds handed the lead over to Bell, who held it to the finish. "He lost the front end in a slip- pery spot," Bell said. "He hit the ground and I got around him. I had about 10 or 15 seconds over him at that point and held it to the finish." Eric Yorba rounded out the podium aboard his RPM KTM with a third-place finish. According to Bell, the Elsinore GP promises to be back next year in all its classic glory. "It wasn't nearly the size they intended, but it's cool that they wanted to keep this race going," Bell said. "This year they got MAV TV on board and hopefully that will help make the event even bigger." Jean Turner also mixed it up in the lead pack, which pulled a sizeable gap over the field. In the second moto, however, Sleeter didn't find himself quite as fortunate when a disconnect- ed fuel hose stopped his race while he was leading. Sleeter's misfortune left the victory within reach of Mo- rais. He held the lead ahead of Swan, who had moved into second place. But a mistake by Swan sent him to the ground, and gifted second in the moto, and on the day, to Anderson. Keefer collected third with a 4-3 ahead of Swan's 3-4. Other notable winners on the weekend included Steffi Laier, who dominated the Women's Pro event. Isao Ida of Japan took the 55+ Expert win ahead of Chuck Sun on Saturday, and was also a front-runner in the 50+ class. Don Grahn headed the surprisingly packed field of 60+ Experts on Sunday, besting Pete Degraaf of Canada in the second moto for the overall victory. The 70+ division was swept by Roque Colman, who made the trek from Sao Paulo, Brazil, to compete. Jean Turner

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