I posted this on my blog but figured I would post it here. I have been stupid busy with race season and some other stuff going on around here at the shop. I am going to try and get back on here more often but there is not enough hours in the day.
It was truly an honor to pit for these guys. They left everything they had out there in the desert. All of this on the one year anniversary of us loosing a very special person to all of us. Tyler Watts, I hope you are proud of what you saw on Friday we pushed to the very end.
We Ride For TY.
Miss you buddy
2013 Best In The Desert Vegas To Reno
Well this weekends Vegas to Reno was eventful to say the least. With the start being in Beatty which is about two hours from the shop race day started about midnight Thursday night. With everything loaded we headed out to the start around 2 o'clock which would put us at the start around 4:00 AM. With staging being at 5:15 AM this was plenty of time to get the bike dialed in and ready for a long day of racing.
Well this weekends Vegas to Reno was eventful to say the least. With the start being in Beatty which is about two hours from the shop race day started about midnight Thursday night. With everything loaded we headed out to the start around 2 o'clock which would put us at the start around 4:00 AM. With staging being at 5:15 AM this was plenty of time to get the bike dialed in and ready for a long day of racing.
Once the bike headed to staging I headed out to my first pit assignment which was pit two. We wanted to get there early so we could get a good spot. Once we arrived to pit 2 we set up our pit so we would be ready for our rider when he arrived. At about 7:00 AM the pro bikes started rolling through our pit. At 7:10 AM our bike came into pit with the lead on corrected time. We fueled the bike up and put a fresh rider on.
After leaving pit 2 we headed to pit 4, on the way we radioed our other support truck and they had told us that our rider crashed and he was hurt. We flipped our radio over to the BITD channel and just then we heard our rider was ok and heading into pit 3. Dalton showed amazing heart and determination to leave the check point he was at after being told he had to wait for medical, and limp the bike into pit three so we could continue in the race. The bike wasn't in to bad of shape at pit 3 so they adjusted the bars and put a fresh rider on. At this time we were about 20 minutes down on time. Dalton was taken to the nearest hospital to get checked out and he was told that he had broken his wrist.
Now that we were down twenty minutes on the leaders we knew we had to make up some time. We were only at mile 100 of a 540 mile race so we knew we had plenty of time to make up the distance. We were able to maintain the gap for the next 6 pit stops. When we rolled into pit 10 we knew this was our chance to make up all the time we had lost early on in the race. Once on the bike at pit 10 the rider would have to ride 100 miles before they could hand the bike off to someone else. Because of this we knew our rider would be stronger and could push to make up time on the other teams.
Pit 10 was going to be a big pit for us. We had planned to do a tire change and an air filter change at this pit so we would have a fresh tire up in the mountains. Once we saw the leader come in and change their filter and tire we decided to change our plan. We were only going to change the tire if it was needed. If the rider getting on was comfortable with the tire we were going to leave it. At this pit we knew exactly where we were with the leaders and we knew we had to take some chances to catch them.
When our bike came in 20 minutes behind the leader we were ready. We had everything ready for a tire change and everything ready for a filter change. Since this was our plan from the start the rider coming in knew he was going to throw the bike on the stand and let us get to work. When the bike came in the tire still looked fresh and we decided that we weren't going to change it. Well that is easier said than done. Our rider came in with plan A in mind. He jumped off and started to pick the bike up to put it on the stand. We were trying to tell him we aren't changing the tire but he has ear plugs in and he was focused on getting the bike on the stand. After a little bit of a struggle he finally heard us and let the bike go. We gassed up and sent the bike out after the leaders.
Heading to pit 11 we knew Aaron was going to make time on the leaders. He was on a mission all day and there was no way the leaders were going to get away from him. As we pulled into pit 11 we got set up and waited. We only had to wait a few minutes for the leader to come in. The lead bike showed up at 2:58 their pit crew told them they're 12 minutes ahead of us and not to worry. We knew we weren't that far behind but we wouldn't know for sure until our bike showed up. Well we didn't have to wait long as our bike showed up at 3:05. You could hear a pin drop in the pits as we know the other team was surprised to see our bike that close behind. We had to do a filter change as the bike was down on power and we were getting into the higher altitude of the race course.
We made a filter change and got the bike back into the race. Aaron was back on the hunt. He gained sometime on the leader when they arrived at the next pit. By then Aaron got into a groove and he was able to pick off the second place rider and get us to within 4 minutes of the leader by pit 13. Once we arrived at pit 13 we knew we had a chance. We had 80 miles to make up 4 minutes and we were ready to put in the work. Unfortunately when the bike was in the pit getting fuel something let go in the motor. We knew that we could no longer challenge for the win and instead of giving a half hearted effort to get to the finish we decided to call it a day.
After pitting for the Watts Racing crew in all of ours FIRST Vegas To Reno, I got to see just how dedicated they are. Everybody on the team has the same thing on their mind. TO WIN at all costs. Dalton could have very easily given up at mile 68, but he sucked up the pain of a broken wrist and rode the bike almost 20 miles to the next pit. The other two riders could have called it a day when we were down by 20 minutes but instead they pushed. They ran a remarkable pace for almost 8 hours. Everybody put in 100 percent and at the end of the day we didn't break. The machine broke, and even though we didn't finish the riders and the pit crew gave it everything they had and at the end of the day that's what matters.
We are taking this as a learning experience and we are going to come back next year with a better game plan and we plan on taking home the hardware. We would like to thank everybody that has helped us along the way it would be impossible to do these things with out your help.
I would like to thank David for prepping an awesome machine and putting together a flawless pit plan. Oh and also running an awesome race. Aaron for running a relentless pace all day that went almost unmatched, and Dalton for not giving up when he was dealt a bad hand and keeping us in the race. To the Watts Family for running awesome pits stops and showing great hospitality when we go to Reno.
We made a filter change and got the bike back into the race. Aaron was back on the hunt. He gained sometime on the leader when they arrived at the next pit. By then Aaron got into a groove and he was able to pick off the second place rider and get us to within 4 minutes of the leader by pit 13. Once we arrived at pit 13 we knew we had a chance. We had 80 miles to make up 4 minutes and we were ready to put in the work. Unfortunately when the bike was in the pit getting fuel something let go in the motor. We knew that we could no longer challenge for the win and instead of giving a half hearted effort to get to the finish we decided to call it a day.
After pitting for the Watts Racing crew in all of ours FIRST Vegas To Reno, I got to see just how dedicated they are. Everybody on the team has the same thing on their mind. TO WIN at all costs. Dalton could have very easily given up at mile 68, but he sucked up the pain of a broken wrist and rode the bike almost 20 miles to the next pit. The other two riders could have called it a day when we were down by 20 minutes but instead they pushed. They ran a remarkable pace for almost 8 hours. Everybody put in 100 percent and at the end of the day we didn't break. The machine broke, and even though we didn't finish the riders and the pit crew gave it everything they had and at the end of the day that's what matters.
We are taking this as a learning experience and we are going to come back next year with a better game plan and we plan on taking home the hardware. We would like to thank everybody that has helped us along the way it would be impossible to do these things with out your help.
I would like to thank David for prepping an awesome machine and putting together a flawless pit plan. Oh and also running an awesome race. Aaron for running a relentless pace all day that went almost unmatched, and Dalton for not giving up when he was dealt a bad hand and keeping us in the race. To the Watts Family for running awesome pits stops and showing great hospitality when we go to Reno.
It was truly an honor to pit for these guys. They left everything they had out there in the desert. All of this on the one year anniversary of us loosing a very special person to all of us. Tyler Watts, I hope you are proud of what you saw on Friday we pushed to the very end.
We Ride For TY.
Miss you buddy