BLAIS RACING SERVICES TEAM TAKES A "W" AT THE INAUGURAL GXE BARSTOW 200!

Press Release

Mar 13th, 2013

Contact: Chris Blais

Blais Racing Services
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GXE Barstow 200
March 3, 2013

By:  Ben Meza

My Blais Racing teammate, Brendan Crow and I, had been thinking about racing the
new GXE series together. After talking with Erek Kudla (head of GXE) at Round 1
of NHHA, we decided we would do it!

On Wednesday the week before the race, I was talking with Austin Keys of TTR about
the race and he informed me that he didn't have a ride for the first round of GXE.
I talked with my team manager, Chris Blais, and we agreed that the team for Round
1 would consist of Brendan Crow, Austin Keys, and myself.

Brendan Crow came up to my house the Saturday before the race and we did some last
minute bike prep and suspension testing to our Blais Racing KTM's.  We drove out
to Barstow (the staging area) Saturday night to get the team all signed up, and
then drove a short 20 minutes back to my house to get some rest before the race
the next day.

On race morning, we left my house at 7am and drove out for the race.  We agreed
the best idea for rider positioning was to have Brendan start on his 250cc, Austin
go second on my 200cc, Brendan go out again, and then I'd finish on my 200cc for
a total of 200+ miles on this 52-mile course.  Brendan pulled the holeshot on the
whole A line and by the end of the first loop, he had stretched his lead and caught
up to riders to put the team into fifth overall. Austin then took off and stretched
out our lead even more.  Brendan stayed consistent his final lap and put me in a
great position when I got on the bike.  I took off on my lap, going as fast as
my little 200cc would let me!  I kept her pinned the whole first half of the loop
and hopped into the more technical part of the race.  I excelled through the rocks
but due to the wind, markings had fallen down and I got lost.  I backtracked and
managed to figure out where I lost the trail and continued on my way.  I got to
the finish in 5th Overall bike and a First Place Win in our "A" Class!

It was a great race with a fun layout and I'm really stoked we beat a couple pro
teams!  I want to thank Brendan and Austin for putting the team in a perfect position
for the win!  Also, thanks to all my sponsors: Blais Racing Services, Fasst Company,
ESR, Race Tech, Troy Lee Designs, HBD Moto graphx, KTM USA, Bullet Proof Designs,
BRP, Alpinestars, Samco sport, Kenda, Leatt, Scott USA, Fastway, Dirt Tricks, Rekluse,
Eline, HBMC, and especially my parents!

We want to wish our teammate, Sam Bangert, a speedy recovery after pulling some
tendons in his arm two weeks ago.  Sam was planning on solo racing this 200-mile
event but instead helped work a checkpoint on race day with his family!  Get well
Sam!!

By: Brendan Crow

The last time I competed in a team race was the 12hour at glen Helen in 2011. I
have always loved this style of race, because as a racer you also get the chance
to be a spectator and know what is going on during the race. Coming into the race
I was feeling really good, and knew that with me, Ben Meza, and Austin Keys we had
a very solid team. With three of us on the team, and four loops to travel, we talked
about our strategy and decided that I would be the one doing 2 loops. I was the
chosen one for the start, I had a great jump off the line, and after a bit of maneuvering
through the first corner I sped away with the holeshot from the OPEN A line.

The first part of the course was really fast, and after check one, I noticed that
I was catching dust. I was surprised to see this, but I had clear air the whole
time so it was much easier to go full speed. Within the next couple minutes I had
put myself right in tow with 2 of the riders from the pro line. I wasn't behind
them very long, when a directional error on a ridge allowed me to get by one of
them, while the other one I got around by taking a perfect line down one of the
downhill's and sped by. This put me up to 5th overall, and I knew that I was having
a great ride so far. We were still flying through the faster stuff on the course,
which I was having a blast on. I rode most of the rest of the loop without seeing
anyone else, and handed off the wrist band to Austin for his loop. My loop had definitely
pumped up my teammate Ben, who was super excited for me which felt great. I knew
I had one more loop to go, so I tried to stay hydrated and get a little bit of
food before I would go out again. While I was sitting waiting for my next turn,
some friends and family showed up to cheer me on, and I was happy to see them there.

Once Austin came back through, I was back on the bike and out on my 2nd loop (3rd
for the team). At this point I knew our team had a good lead, and my rear tire was
almost bald so I backed down my pace a little bit. To my surprise, my Kenda tire
was working great despite having barely any tread left. I didn't see many people
out on course my 2nd time around, except lappers and a couple quads. I brought it
in safe and handed off the wristband to Ben, who had not ridden yet, to go out and
finish the race off. Despite getting lost (probably due to markings getting blown
away from the high winds) Ben came in to the finish still 5th overall/1st Place
Open A and had a sizeable margin over the next competitor.

I am super happy with how this race went, I felt much better on the bike than I
have in awhile. I am looking to build off this result and keep getting precious
experience every time I'm on the bike. I want to thank all of my sponsors this year
that are allowing me to race and have fun all the time: Blais Racing Services, Fasst
Co, IMS, FMF, TLD, Kenda, Notoil, BRP, Race Tech, Dirt Tricks, Xbrand goggles,

Alpinestars,HBD motographics are all giving me great support this year.

Thanks to all our team sponsors for 2013:  Fasst Company, KTM, ESR Suspension, Race
Tech, Alpinestars, Kenda, Pro Moto Billet, Fastway, FMF, Rekluse, HBD MotoGrafx,
Regina, TLD, BRP, Bullet Proof Designs, DirtTricks, Eline, IMS, No Toil, Muscle
Milk, and Acerbis.

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Blais Racing Services offers engine rebuilding and online parts for all your Motorcycle,
ATV, & UTV needs.  Owned and operated by Chris Blais, former Factory KTM Dakar Rally
Racer. We specialize in KTM/ Honda, but can work on anything. I do all of the engine
work myself.   www.BlaisRacingServices.com [http://www.BlaisRacingServices.com]

Be sure to visit our website and check out all our cool products.  FMF Exhausts,
Shorai Batteries, Samco Radiator Hoses, JD Tuners, JD 2-stroke Carburetors, Golan
10 micron Fuel Filters and much more!