SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/454861
2014 SCORE BAJA 1000 RACE RECAP a championship trophy, especially after leaving the Honda team in 2009, not racing in 2010 and disappointing experiences in 2011, 2012. In 2013 Bell experienced a bad crash that really caused him to question his participation in Baja again. "The more I thought about it, the more I thought about how I wanted to remember Baja and how much it had given me,"' says Bell. "I wanted to go down there one more time and give it a try with a good chance in winning." In 2014 Bell was teamed up with Ricky Brabec, Max Eddy and Steve Hengeveld riding with Kawasaki. The effort proved to be a great one, beginning with a win in San Felipe and a second place finish at Imperial, and a win at the SCORE Baja 500. So before the Baja 1000, Bell, Brabec, Eddy and Hengeveld were entering the race tied for first. "It's definitely been an incredible year," he says. "We lost time early, but I felt our night riding was stronger than our competition. Max had repaired a shredded tire with a couple of screwdrivers and kept the bike going. Ricky gets on the bike and reports on the radio that he has an issue with the headlights. So he went on with one light. Fortunately Max's chase van was close enough to help and replace it." With 450 miles left in the race, Bell was feeling a little down about their position but was still hopeful. "At that point, the 1x team crashed and put us about 30 minutes behind them. Once Steve Hengeveld got on the bike, he made up the gap, passed the 1X bike and pulled away to the finish." Taking home another Baja championship was all Bell needed to put the icing on his SCORE racing career. "I really can't describe how amazing it is to have gone through as much as I have and to end it the way we did. It really completed the Baja story for me." It's no doubt that Bell's experiences will, and are, inspiring other motorcycle racers to complete in one of the most grueling cross country desert racing series in the world. But euphoric highs and tragic lows are hard emotions to break. Hopefully, SCORE hasn't seen the last of Bell, as this 30-year old veteran still has a lot to offer the sport. SJ CLICK THE VIDEO PLAYER TO VIEW THE INTERVIEW WITH ROBBY BELL. 015 SCORE JOURNAL