VOL. 52 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 15, 2015 P149
BY JEAN TURNER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY HARLEN FOLEY
F
rom the outside, it may have appeared
that Robby Bell's 2015 season went
relatively smoothly. The Precision Con-
cepts rider set out to reclaim his WORCS title,
and aside from the two Washington rounds, he
dominated nearly every race. Bell was hands
down the winningest rider of the season with
six out of 10 victories, and succeeded in regain-
ing his number-one plate in the World Off Road
Championship Series (WORCS). But his season
wasn't as simple as it might have appeared, as
it was the events in between WORCS races that
effectively complicated his bid for the champion-
ship, and rattled his confidence.
There were multiple challenges Robby
overcame en route to his recent champion-
ship that actually stemmed all the way back to
2013, the year he earned his first WORCS title.
The tragic events of the Baja 1000 and his own
string of injuries almost led him to hang it up, but
Robby's drive to succeed overcame his fears,
and guided him back to WORCS racing where
he would once again triumph. There were more
challenges along the way, as were to be expect-
ed—although no one expected Robby to shatter
his face in a gruesome midseason accident
while racing a local motocross event. Yet his
determination fueled him through another trying
season toward a number one plate. Bell sat
down to explain to us how his season unfolded,
how he summoned the fortitude to continue af-
ter his nightmarish crash, and what the coming
year will bring.
Tell us about your 2015 WORCS season.
I was carrying injuries coming off of 2014.
I had a really bad knee injury so it was tough
because I really wanted to defend my number-
one plate from the year previous. But it just
didn't quite work out. Gary [Sutherlin] had a
great year and earned every bit of that number-
one plate (in 2014). So for me coming in to
He may have dominated
this year, but 2015 was no
cakewalk for Robby Bell.
TIME
LOT HARDER THAN HE MADE IT LOOK.