Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green's Bell and Worth Help Lead Team USA to Victory at the Junior MX World Championships

2011-08-24 16:53
Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green riders Chase Bell and Mark Worth met up in Cingoli, Italy for the 2011 FIM Junior MX World Championships and helped lead Team USA to victory. Riders from around the globe converged in the small Italian town, only miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea, to compete against the best amateur motocross racers in the world. Team USA battled until the last lap on the fast, hardpacked track to secure the overall win, with Great Britain taking second, and Italy in the number three spot. Bell rode hard in both motos to finish second-overall in the 85cc class after going 3-1. Worth showed impressive speed and determination both days, but hang-ups on the gate and battles with other riders left him with a 7-19 result on the weekend.

When Bell arrived at the track in Cingoli, it was unlike any track he had ridden before. The hardpack surface was dry and littered with rocks, making the track very fast and unforgiving. Bell adapted to the track quickly and was the only rider in the 85 class who had the speed to clear the large step-up jumps. His impressive riding resulted in a second-place finish in the 85cc class, which greatly helped Team USA take the overall win.

“It was one of the most fun races I have ever done,” said Bell. “I liked the track and had some good competition out there. The track was totally different than any track I have ever ridden, but I got used it pretty quick. In the first moto I got a bad start and had to make my way through the pack and ended up finishing in third. By the second moto I had the track pretty much figured out. I was second off the start, but I saw the leader go inside on a turn so I just passed him on the outside. Around the third lap I had a six-second lead so I just tried to ride smart and consistent. My KX™85 ran awesome out there, the other kid’s bikes didn’t even compare. I would have rather got first overall, but I was pretty happy with second since I helped Team USA take the team win. I had a good time in Italy too, but was out there a little long and started missing home.”

After spending a week racing in the hot and humid Tennessee weather at Loretta Lynn’s, Worth was ready to throw down when he arrived in Italy. The track was similar to tracks he had grown up riding in Arizona, and he adapted very quickly. While Worth rode with world-class skill, the different starting gate hung him up both motos. Despite the rough starts, Worth battled through the field in the 85 class to finish 7-19 on the weekend.

“It was a crazy experience,” said Worth. “I had never been out of the U.S. so it was awesome to check out another country. The weather was hot out there, but not nearly as hot as it was at Loretta’s. The track layout was pretty difficult and it was really hardpacked. It felt more like riding on rocks than dirt, and got pretty slick and choppy in places. I didn’t like the gates there because they were big and thick with a rounded shape. I hit the gate both motos and got hung up. In the first moto I was able to get through the pack quick without any problems and finished in seventh. The second moto I got hung up on the gate again and had to work through the pack. As I was trying to make passes, some of the other racers were holding me back and wouldn’t let me by. I got tangled up with another rider a few times and we eventually went down, which knocked us to the back. I worked my way up to 19th before the finish. Overall it was a fun race and our team won the event, which was cool. The opening ceremonies were great and it was fun hanging out with kids from other countries. It gave you a little taste of what it would be like to be in the pro ranks, with all the people cheering out there. After the race we went to Venice with the Bell family and hung out, which was a good time. I had a lot of fun exploring Italy.”

Team Green Supervisor Ryan Holliday was selected by the AMA to manage Team USA, which he did with great success. From the time the team arrived in Italy, until the final turn of the last moto, Holliday took every necessary step to ensure Team USA’s success.

“The event went great for Team USA,” said Holliday. “Our goal was to go out there and win and we accomplished that goal. We had a team of solid riders who all rode really well and contributed to the overall result. I am very happy how everyone worked together as a team, which was paramount to our overall success. Bell rode great both motos to finish second overall. He had a great ride the second moto where he got out front early and checked out. Worth had a good first moto where he came from the back to finish inside the top-10. The second moto he had some bad luck on the start, and later got tangled up in a crash. He rode really well and tried his hardest, but just got a little unlucky. Overall I am very happy with the results. I’m a big fan of the international events, I think they’re a unique experience.”

The track in Italy was very different than any other track the U.S. riders had experienced. Its rocky surface provided little room for error and the team had a very short time to adapt and overcome. With the assistance of Holliday, they were able to put together a winning strategy for the unique track which led to the ultimate success of Team USA.

“The track was completely different than anything our guys ride during the national events in America,” said Holliday. ”It was hardpacked and filled with rocks, but didn’t get too rough because it was so dry. It was a fast track where you carried a lot of momentum, which made it easy for everyone to go fast on the track, but made it harder to separate yourself from the other riders. You really had to plan ahead with your lines and link your sections together or you wouldn’t have good lap times. Because the motos were pretty long, 20 minutes plus two-laps, you had to really focus on being consistent through the whole moto in order to be there at the end. We tried to help coach our guys through it and give them good advice on how to ride the track, which ended up working out pretty well. Our team really had a very short time to adapt, but I felt they did a great job.”

From the track layout to the moto format, everything was different in Italy. Proving their world-class skill and conditioning was second-to-none, Team USA adapted quickly to the adverse conditions. Although the motos were longer than any other race Worth has attended, he felt they were less work than the grueling motos in the deep track at Loretta Lynn’s where he had competed the weekend prior to arriving in Italy. Back in Georgia, Bell and his father had been putting in a lot of time training for long motos, so the format in Italy wasn’t too tough for this seasoned racer. When the dust had settled, despite the challenging conditions, Team USA came out on top as world champions.


Results
FIM Junior MX World Championships
Cingoli, Italy
August 13-14, 2011

World Championship Standings
1. USA (AMA) 1-2-10-13
2. Great Britain (ACU) 4-4-7-15
3. Italy (FMI) 8-14-3-25
4. France (FFM) 7-3-16-26
5. Belgium (FMB) 6-9-33-48
6. Netherlands (KNMV) 19-17-13-49
7. Sweden (SVEMO) 18-19-14-51
8. Ukraine (FMU) 26-7-27-60
9. Estonia (EMF) 34-23-4-61
10. Latvia (LAMSF) 36-1-24-61

Source: KMC

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