Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/783081
IN THE WIND P34 ZACH BELL STARS AT TAFT BIG 6 GP Z ach Bell originally made a name for himself as a professional on the AMA MX and Supercross circuits before injuries and complications from surgery forced him into early retirement. Motocross' loss was off-road's gain. Now healed and working himself back up to speed, he's the newest member of the Ox Motor- sports Honda squad, filling in at the AMA District 37/Maxxis Big 6 Grand Prix/West Coast GP Se- ries, while Colton Udall recuperates from injuries suffered in his practice crash two months ago. After getting fourth at the opening round of the series, he led from the second lap on at round two, the 71st Annual Dirt Dig- gers Grand Prix hosted by the Dirt Diggers Motorcycle Club at Honolulu Hills Raceway in Taft, California, February 4-5. Holeshot winner Blayne Thompson stayed close and crossed the finish line second, but that was before being penal- ized two minutes for not stopping at the pit exit. That dropped him to sixth in that 90-minute race and moved everyone else up a spot. Thus, Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/Preci- sion Concepts Kawasaki rider Robby Bell claimed runner-up honors with Thousand Oaks Powersports Yamaha's Michael del Fante third. "I came in to pit right behind Zach and I totally didn't see the guy with the stop sign at the pit exit and just pulled out of the pits," Fasthouse Honda's Thompson explained. "We dropped to second in points, three points behind Zach Bell in the [WCGP] Pro class. We'll be back at the next round at Glen Helen to win it." Monster Energy/Lava Propane/MSR CRF450X-mounted Bell said, "I've been off the bike for about a year now and I've been working my butt off, trying to get back to racing. It's really paying off. I've been on the bike for about a month so I've been putting in hour-and- a-half motos three days a week. To get here back on top feels good. "I was third off the start," he added. "The dust was so bad, so I backed her down and made the pass whenever I needed to. That's when Blayne went down in front of me. I capitalized and got out front and he couldn't pass me with that dust so I just stayed right there and rode my own race. The The big step-up at Honolulu Hills was no problem for former MX star Zach Bell, who won the 90-minute WCGP feature race. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK KARIYA