REM GLEN HELEN REPORT: SHOWDOWN AT THE WORCS CORRAL: ROBBIE BELL AND NICK BROZOVICH SLAP LEATHER AT REM MOTOCROSS

Next weekend the WORCS series comes to Glen Helen for two days and Robbie Bell and Nick Brozovich decided to come a week early to get in some practice for the cross-country race. Bell (32) and Brozovich (89) were never farther apart than this in the first 450 Pro moto. Brozovich won the first moto with Robbie Bell second and Travis Bell third.

REM motocross racers are a hardy lot. They race the longest local race schedules in the USA. There are 40 races in the REM motocross schedule, but September is the leanest motocross month of all. This week’s REM motocross was the only one scheduled for September because there will be a WORCS motorcycle race on September 18-19 and a WORCS Quad race on September 25-26. Since both of those races used every square-inch of Glen Helen, this weekend was the last chance for the REM faithful to race motocross before the two-week WORCS hiatus.


When Brozovich got collected in first turn crash at the start of the second moto, Robbie Bell (32) had an easy time winning the second 450 Pro moto. Brozovich got up off the ground and started a long charge through the pack that netted him second overall, thanks to a last lap pass on Travis Bell.

Of course, the main players at REM this weekend were WORCS racers. They came to the REM motocross to get in some practice before next week’s cross-country race. The hero of the day was 450 Pro Robbie Bell, who went 2-1 to defeat Nick Brozovich’s 1-2. The first moto was an impressive cat-and-mouse battle between the two (as they distanced themselves from the rest of the field), but unfortunately, Brozovich fell in the first turn of moto two and could not keep up with the fast starting Robbie Bell in the second moto. Travis Bell finished third overall with a 3-3.

The two fastest Intermediates at REM Saturday motocross were Billy Musgrave (shown) and Max Groom. They both raced their way up into the Pro field. Musgrave won the first moto on a YZ125 two-stroke, but suffered a flat tire in moto two.

Nathan Cernicky (381) took the 250 Novice victory. Nathan went 1-1 while the rest of the class had wildly erratic scores. Second place went to Keith Olsen with a 4-2 and third was Adam Waheed with a 3-3. Gunnar Johnston had a second in the first moto, but DNF’ed moto two.

WHAT ABOUT ALL OF THOSE OLD GUYS?
REM motocross is famous for its large number of old guys…and that does not mean youngster who are only 30 years old. Because of its proximity to the motorcycle industry and the large number of  former racers from the 1970s, REM attracts lots of racers over the age of 50 and 60.

Aussie Dan Alamango’s (91) tries to take his 2011 KTM 250SXF around the 2011 KTM 350SXF of Pete Vetrano (37).

In the Over-50 Novice class, which was the biggest class of the day, Steve See holeshot and went 1-1 in front of a top ten of?Rick Bealer (3-2), Brian Underdahl (2-3), Tim Norton (4-4), Greg Whitfield (6-5), Craig Johnston (5-6), Don Wallace (9-7), Brian Martin (8-8), Ian Pederson (7-11) and Arnold Schreuder (10-9).

The Over-50 Intermediate class had a straight-up battle between Hollywood stuntman John Alden, Mechanix Wear’s John Caper and Gary Scott. Alden swept both motos to keep Caper and Scott behind him.

Preston Tilford was not content to watch, but the Vance & Hines sponsored 450 Pro broke his arm at Pala two weeks ago and will be out of action for another month.

The Over-50 Expert class saw Dennis Boulware and Greg Nelson each win a moto, but when George Kohler (on a 2011 KTM 250SX two-stroke) took advantage of a Nelson mistake in the second moto, the victory went to Boulware. Greg Nelson went 1-3, while Kohler had his best finish in a couple moths with a 4-2 for third. Randy Skinner was fourth and Pete Vetrano fifth.

In the Over-60 Expert class Tom White used his Grand National Dirt Track skills to holeshot both motos and lead, but Lyle Sweeter ran him down to take both victories. Tom Holmes and Jody Weisel dueled over third and were never more than two bikes length apart in either moto. Holmes 4-3 took third. Chuck Minert and Bill Seifert battled over fourth and fifth?with Minert getting the spot.

Speedway racer Randy Skinner proves that he can not only go left, but also up. Skinner borrowed Ray Pisarski’s CRF250 when Pisarski had issues with his hand and Skinner’s suspension guru failed to come through on time. Randy finished 3-6 in the Over-50 Expert class.

THE FAMILY THAT RACES TOGETHER
REM has a lot of family racers and this week there were three Freeman’s in the 450 Novice class. Unfortunately none of them took the win over Craig Cheever. Vance Freeman was second (2-2), Bret Freeman was third (4-3) and Taylor Freeman was fifth (5-4).

The Musgrave’s had a good and bad day?dad Willy won the Over-40 Pro class, while son Billy won the first 250 Intermediate moto, only to suffer a flat tire and lose the to Max Groom. Max’s father Greg was eighth overall in the Over-50 Expert class.

Jay Clark (133) cut a stylish swath around REM in moto one.

On a side note: Scott Williams finished third in the Over-40 Intermediate class with a 4-2 (behind Dan Alamangos and Tim Murphy). Scott’s wife is expecting a baby…by that we mean she was expecting the baby sometimes on Saturday, but she told Scott to go ahead and race because he could probably make it to the hospital on time.

Tom White (80) is a busy man since selling the White Brothers. He is on a Board of Directors of the AMA Hall of Fame Museum, helps with the Trail Blazers banquet, announces races around the country, runs the “Early Years of Motocross Museum” and races at REM every weekend. Tom went 2-2 behind Lyle Sweeter in the Over-60 Expert class.

REM races again on October 2. For more info go to www.remsatmx.com.

Photos by Ray Pisarski and Dan Alamangos