SCORE Journal

SCORE-Journal-July-2021

SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing

Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1394687

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 104 of 124

HOPES & DREAMS Despite Injuries Chris Gill Locks Down The Pro Moto Limited Class Win By Larry Saavedra photo courtesy of Elements Heating & Air, Revd Productions SCORE Pro Moto Limited racer Chris Gill broke his leg earlier this season racing in San Felipe. But then he roared back to take the class win at the 53rd BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 Presented by 4 WheelParts. It was the type of injury that might have sidelined others, but Gill said his Elements Heating & Air race team was more prepared than ever to take on the Baja 500. “The team runs on hopes and dreams,” he said. “It’s a motto to keep us motivated. I started the race and quickly handed the bike to my teammate Ciaran Naran.” While Gill officially rolled off the line on a Honda CRF450X, his three other teammates took the lion’s share of the 466 miles and never looked back. The Elements Heating & Air race team, made up of young upstarts, simply wanted to podium. It turned out that they physically crossed the finish line third in class. But due to penalties imposed on the top two teams, the win reverted to Gill by Sunday afternoon. While a four-person team would have been preferable, Gill had a set strategy that gave Naran the bike until mile-marker 103, and from there the 109x bike went to Travis Frohlich, who rode to mile-marker 275, where his younger brother Nathan was waiting to take it to the finish. “We pre-ran the course a lot,” said Gill. “None of the boys missed a VCP or had penalties, and that did it. We took third, but by Sunday we moved into first after the official times were posted.” While the Elements Heating & Air team raced flawlessly, they also knew to precisely follow the mandated course rules no matter the situation. “The Stella was telling us to maintain 30 mph in the speed zones,” he said. “I heard it was supposed to be 37 mph, but we stuck to 30 mph because Stella was beeping at us to keep it there– and we did.” Gill said he was fortunate to get the third rider because initially, he was going to go down to Mexico with two guys. “Luckily, State of Ethos came out with a group of talented guys that helped prepare us for the race. We then had enough guys on deck to run the program. They also handled all the video and photography.” As it turned out, Gill was the only guy on the team that had experience racing in Mexico– the other guys had never raced Baja. “I raced the 2019 SCORE Baja 500 and Baja 1000,” he said. “These guys are great riders and they are fast desert racers. This win is going to help us in the long haul. But for now, it is one race at a time.” Gill plans to race in the Baja 400 and will be adding two additional riders to the team for the Baja 1000. SJ Despite a broken leg, Gill feels great after snatching the SCORE Pro Moto Limited class win.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of SCORE Journal - SCORE-Journal-July-2021