BLAIS RACING / FASST CO Race Report from Round 8! By: Skyler Howes, Pro #7 2013 AMA NHHA GXE Reno Extreme I want to give a big thank you to Erek Kudla and GXE for all the hard work in putting this race together. It was a great event and I want to show my appreciation to them for everything! This would be my first official race back from my back injury at Round 4 in April. I was stoked but my nerves were up there too! We took the long trek from St. George, UT up to Reno on Thursday afternoon. It rained on us the whole way up but of course once we got closer there was nothing but dry heat and clear sky! The start fit the term “bomb run” perfectly. It looked like a bomb went off and there was nothing but lava rock. There was no “good” line up the hill; you just kind of got lucky if you didn’t hit any of the bigger rocks. I chose the right side and waited for the flag to wave. Old reliable (Blais Racing KTM 300XC) fired right up and I was off to a great start up the hill. I came through the banners at the end of the bomb in third just behind Kurt Caselli and Jacob Argubright. The first two miles consisted of the up and down hill start, a large pile of boulders, a tunnel and this off camber rocky section by the scoring. Just over a mile into the race I was already into a comfortable groove and my front end decided it didn’t want to stay on the ground any more. I went down in the rocks and my front brake was stuck on. It took me a second to get everything rolling and by this time I was near last place on the Pro line. I made my way back around through the pit area where we straightened everything out and I was back on my way for the rest of the loop. I picked a few riders off right away and kept chugging along through the rough terrain. The first two loops were quite uneventful. The Dirt Tricks radiator fans had my bike running cool through out the technical course and I made it around the loop strong and consistent with no major issues. Nic Garvin had an issue of his own which put him back to where I was. We both swapped positions a few times and cruised on together. I came into the pit, fueled up; re filled my hydration system and set back out on the final loop. Around the half way mark of the loop was a couple of gnarly up hills. The first one was all chewed up, poofy and loose from everyone spinning up it. If you could find a line off of the trail through the rocks, you could get traction and hopefully keep your momentum up the hill. Nic and my self were close coming to the hill. He chose the left side and I chose the right. As I was paddling my way up, I look off to my left where Nic made it to the top of the hill with no issue at all when I was still chugging my way up. I finally made it up the hill climb with no more sight of Nic. I turned up the pace to what was still safe but could not real in any more time. Coming through the last canyon towards the finish I was extremely grateful for my Flexx Handlebars, Fastway system 5 steering damper, A’ME grips and ESR/Race Tech suspension. They all kept me relaxed and able to hang on for the grueling 60 mile race and come home with no blisters and able to hang on and push the entire time. Right as I was going to make my way through the tunnel under the truck course, BJ Baldwin’s truck came charging by and gapped probably 6 feet right in front of me, it was sick! I cruised on in to the finish felling quite accomplished. After only having a hand full of times on the bike since my injury and having the bike and my self in great shape, I was pretty happy. I came in scored at 9th pro and around 12th overall. Not quite the result I was hoping for but still glad to have the opportunity to be back out and racing. My Blais Racing KTM 300XC ran excellent the whole race pulling me in for a finish. The Kenda tires gripped and tracked around this rough course and kept me going along with Dirt Tricks sprockets, Regina chain and RAD Mfg wheels driving me forward. I could not do it without the help of all my sponsors, Blais Racing Services, Fasst Company, KTM, Torco Oil, ESR suspension, Race Tech, RAD Mfg, Alpinestars, Kenda, Pro Moto Billet, Fastway, FMF , Rekluse, HBD Motografx, Regina, TLD, BRP, Bullet Proof, DirtTricks, Eline, IMS, No Toil, Acerbis, Muscle Milk, Xbrand Goggles, A’ME Grips, TMFG Designs and Bike Week Radio.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 19:19:29 +0000
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