SCORE Journal

SCORE-Journal-January-2022

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

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SCORE 2021 PRO MOTO LIMITED CHAMPION Chris Gil And His Team Recovered After A Crash To Take The SCORE Pro Moto Limited Crown Story by Stuart Bourdon Photography by Get Some Photo Chris Gil and his Pro Moto Limited team pulled off what some might call a miracle in the 2021 SCORE Off-Road Racing Series. It was the first time they decided to run all four races in the series needed to get the Pro Moto Limited championship. As Gil told us, “We decided from the very start there were not going to be any DNFs. We were going to finish every single race and win as many of them as we possibly could.” When Gil crashed hard in the SCORE San Felipe 250, he thought the team’s plans for the year might also have crashed. “I broke two vertebrae in my back, tore ligaments on my fibula, and busted up both my knees,” he said. “I thought we were out of the champ points race, but the rest of my team rallied. While I was being driven north in an ambulance, the squad got the bike back together and went after it. They ended up bringing the bike across the finish line for a fourth in our class.” Gil was hungry to race and to help his team win their class championship. “The recovery process was pretty challenging, but once the doctors cleared me to start walking again, I also started to ride a little.” He took the bike off the starting line for the SCORE Baja 500 but immediately handed it over to one of his team members. “After the team won the SCORE Baja 500, I began getting on the bike more. It seemed that riding was as good or better than walking to recover. That’s when I really started pushing myself and getting aggressive with my recovery work so that I could do more for the SCORE Baja 400.” “We got second in our class at the SCORE Baja 400, and by the SCORE Baja 1000, I really felt like I was on top of my game again. The SCORE Baja 1000 was not an easy one for us. We had a tight race going with the 100x bike team of Fernando Beltran from the start. Until about mile 900, we had to push hard to stay up front. Beltran’s team had two wins (San Felipe 250 and the Baja 400), so we couldn’t take it easy at any point during the SCORE Baja 1000 if we wanted to win the class championship.” Gil got on the bike at about race mile 935. He knew Beltran’s team was hot on his tail. “My teammate Kevin Murphy had done a great job keeping the bike in good shape and buying me some time. However, the bike had been experiencing an electrical issue and was draining batteries rapidly.” Gil’s team was swapping in fresh batteries as often as possible. “We ended up going through four batteries while I was on the bike,” he said. “That was the only way I could have lights for that last leg of the SCORE Baja 1000.” “At our last full pit stop, Andy Griner informed me that the 100x bike had gone through the Sportsman Shortcut, and they would get penalized. Andy grabbed me, looked me right in the eyes, and said ‘All you have to do is get the bike to the finish line, and we win this thing.’ It took the pressure off. I kept up a good pace, made no mistakes, and we won the SCORE Baja 1000 and got the points we needed to win the class championship.” “Now that we are the 100x bike, we’re absolutely going to defend our title in 2022,” explained Gil. “I had always dreamed of running a full series in Baja, and 2021 was kind of an emotional roller coaster, but the entire team really came through and made it happen.” Now they have the chance to do it again, and this time Gil will be able to ride in all the races. “It’s something I have to do again, especially the 2022 San Felipe race. I have to finish that one to make up for the last one.” SJ

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