CHAMPION GARY SUTHERLIN
VOL. 51 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 16, 2014 P215
The KTM has electric start, so she'll
start my bike and rev it. Once I'm on
the starting line, we kiss and say our
goodbyes and she wishes me luck
and then I go race. As soon as I'm
done racing, she's on the podium
with me."
Of course, parenting has its rocky
sections, which has included things like chang-
ing a poopy diaper right before the start, but once
again, Gary only points to the positives of it all.
"Some guys get up in the morning on race day
and they're focused on 'What line am I going to
take?' and all this. My first thing is I wake up,
and I'm like, 'Okay, I got to get Emery dressed,
I got to get her breakfast, I got to get her little
backpack with snacks ready.' It might be even
a blessing in disguise sometimes because I'm
not really thinking about the race. I don't get
nervous or stressed out about it. I focus on get-
ting her ready and then when she's ready to go,
then I switch gears and it's time for me to worry
about what I'm doing."
It's another in a list of unconventional as-
pects of Gary Sutherlin's racing career, but
in the end, there's no denying the function-
ality of this unlikely duo.
Together they've figured out how to win
races, earn a championship, and even a
gold medal.
"It's kind of funny. I was in Argentina and she was
with my parents and my mom was video chatting with
me and my mom goes, 'Your daddy's at a race.' This
was after I won the championship and she goes, 'No
he's not racing–he won championship!' It's funny to
hear that because she fully knew what that meant."
DEFINING STYLE…
The challenge of being a single parent wasn't the only
obstacle Sutherlin had to overcome en route to his
championship in 2014. Stretching his limited means
over the course of a yearlong championship required
a rather marked change in his own riding style.
"I've been known to be pretty hard on equipment and
Sutherlin won
five of the nine
WORCS races
in 2014.
"THEY'RE REALLY
NOT A TEAM –
THEY JUST LET
ME BORROW
BIKES IN RETURN
FOR A STORY."
