VOL. 50 ISSUE 21 MAY 29, 2013
Rattray and his friend and training
partner Ryan Villopoto chat
before the first moto.
earlier that morning of this year's
Hangtown National. "I wanted to
give him a chance on a 450 for
a season. So when we decided
to do a 450 program, I knew he
could be strong. I believe in him.
Outdoors is usually where Tyla
shines and I think he can be a
player this season."
World renowned for his gritty,
aggressive and hard driving racecraft, Payton went on to add that
he felt these very attributes would
be beneficial to Rattray on the
much more powerful 450F.
"He's a big boy and his fitness has never been an issue
and he's always been good at
the end of the motos," Payton
added. "That'll be a big help with
the 450s because the track gets
so rough and the bikes are heavy
and stuff and you usually see a
lot of guys fade at the end of a
moto. What I'm hoping is all that
pans out and that his stature and
everything will help him do well in
that class."
While, due to injuries and such,
Rattray has been "off the radar"
(in the words of one French journalist present at Hangtown), Payton has full faith in Rattray and is
keenly cognizant of the fact that
his "guy" can be a winner.
"Yeah, for sure. I believe he
can win," said Payton. "Everything would have to be right, but
why not? He hasn't had the luck
- last year for sure - but when you
look at the two years previous
- when he rode the little bikes -
P99
he was always right there for the
championship so I would assume
he'll be in the championship hunt
this year."
Another person who has extreme confidence in Rattray is
Aldon Baker. The trainer to the
stars who helped create the monster that was Ricky Carmichael,
Baker has been working on a
daily basis with his charge Villopoto. That withstanding, Baker
also trains and monitors Rattray,
who quite often rides and trains
with Villopoto.
"During the week and at practice I see him very comparable
to Ryan [Villopoto]," said Baker
a few hours before the opening
450 moto. "Now he needs to
bring that to the race. Yeah, the
fitness and strength? Yeah, it's
not a problem with Tyla. The only
