FEATURE
P100
A DAY WITH TYLA RATTRAY
thing with Tyla is that he gets on
it at the beginning of the moto.
I think the class is deep and it's
that initial "out of the gate" that
is his little Achilles'' heel. And he
knows that. So at this stage, he is
going to have to get off the back
earlier and use his fitness and everything else to get to the front.
For sure, capabilities-wise, yeah,
I see what he does during the
week and know he is capable of
honestly getting on that box. For
sure. Even Ryan has said that.
Ryan has said, 'If he rides like he
rides during the week. He'll be
on the box.' Potentially, he is that
sort of guy who can win."
Back down to the starting gate
and the opening 30-minutesplus-two-lap moto of the 2013
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship: 40 bikes are kicked to
life, rolled up to the very edge of
the gate, the riders stomp down
on the shift lever and drop the
transmission into gear, the revs
come up, the gate drops and it's
all horsepower, noise, speed and
madness as the pack dives into
the first left-hand turn then makes
an immediate right and race up
the hill. James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey – the
usual suspects – took off, never
to be heard from again, while Rattray bashing, banging and throwing elbows for his rightful spot on
the track was way back in 15th.
And while he would get back to
a very hard-fought ninth (his lap
times getting lower and lower as
the moto wore down), it wasn't
what he wanted.
The South African
would like his
competition to
see a bit more of
this view.
"Shitty start," answered Payton
when I asked him about Rattray's
moto. "He rode well and kept getting faster and faster at the end,
but at this level, you have to be up
there at the start. He'll be fine."
Back in the cool confines
of the pits and soaking himself
down with ice and water, Rattray
pondered what had just gone
down.
"I struggle here at this track,"
he said. "I always have. It's so
much different than all the other
tracks. I just never felt comfortable. I mean I think the forks were
a little too soft on the front. We'll
get that fixed and get the nose up
for next weekend and we'll also
try something with the shock."
Little did anybody know, for no
one said a word, but Rattray's engine had gone south on him during the moto.
