The Yanks are coming!
By TMX Archives on 16th Mar 12
A second US team has been confirmed for the Farleigh Castle Vets Nations in September, with Mike Too Tall Bell and Ryan Hughes on their way.
And ‘Ryno', who proved he could still run world top ten pace at the 2010 Glen Helen GP, has thrown down the gauntlet to the other nations.
"Team USA are not coming to finish second this year!” he roared.
Hughes, who runs his own training facility in Southern California, was an American Kawasaki factory rider through the 1990s before a brief but stunning impact on the GPs at the turn of the millennium.
And entering into the spirit of the occasion, he has commisioned a former Kawasaki USA mechanic and Pro Circuit to build him a killer 1989 KX500 specially for Farleigh.
‘Ryno' is also not without Nations experience.
He was the anchor man to Ricky Carmichael and Travis Pastrana when the USA won at St Jean D'Angely in Y2K.
Special thanks go to worldwide brand Oakley for bringing Mike Bell to the world's greatest Vets race on the
weekend of September 14 to 16.
The former American factory Yamaha rider stands well over six feet – hence the ‘Too Tall' nickname.
Strangely, he didn't represent his country at the Nations at the peak of his career, but his CV is immaculate.
He never won an outdoor title but was runner-up in his chosen class for three straight years from 1979-81 and went 3-1-2 in the all-encompassing SX series through that period.
Always a Yamaha factory man, he also starred at Carlsbad, taking a moto win in 1982, the year that Danny ‘Magoo' Chandler won the US GP – incidentally the trophy for the winning team at Farleigh is dedicated to Magoo's memory.
Although Bell rarely raced in Europe, he will be remembered for his victory in the very first major Supercross on this side of the Atlantic in the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium in 1981.
More information about the Farleigh festival can be found on the website – www.vetsmxdn.co.uk
