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Yoshimura/Honda sponsored riders:
Joe and Heather Byrd at the top of their game
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| Yoshimura/Honda
Riders Joe and Heather Byrd |
Chino, CA - (4/14/06) -Yoshimura sponsored
riders Joe and Heather Byrd are rarely far from podium
heights these days. In fact most Sundays that is exactly
where you will find them. After five rounds of the GNC
Series, both Byrds are at the top of the points
standings. (Joe moved up to share this spot with John
Natalie after a second overall at Budds Creek.)
Joe's season has really amp'd up from last year. He
has his Dan Lamey tuned, Yoshimura equipped Honda TRX450R
really hooked up and dialed in. Joe is known as being
a very hard trainer. Joe is almost a perpetual winner
of the brutally hot Loretta Lynn's race every
August. While other competitors are having trouble dealing
with the track and the heat, Byrd flourishes in the
conditions. "I ride all week at home in Tennessee,
so when I get to the actual GNC track it's much easier
for me," says Byrd. "I really stress nutrition
and training, as well as riding skills at the school
- it all works together."
Joe's motor builder Dan Lamey has been putting the
same amount of effort into his engine program. With
Joe's extra height, (6'5" tall), he needs even
more horsepower than his typically smaller competitors.
"I'm at a disadvantage in some ways," says
Joe. "But in other ways it's an advantage. It equals
itself out but still, I have to have a really strong
motor if I'm going to get any starts." Judging
by the results thus far, Joe's Honda is giving nothing
away in the power department.
Heather Byrd hasn't given much of anything up to the
competition either this year. Surprisingly, Heather
is the veteran rider of the two - "I was really
small - really itty bitty," Heather explains. "My
dad wanted me to ride a dirt bike but I was too tiny
to ride one so we went to a dealership to look at quads.
The dealership that we went to was holding a race. I
asked my dad to bring me out there because it would
be cool and really fun." And Heather, we guess
it still is. Numerous race wins have Heather firmly
in the top spot in the Woman's Pro class. As last year's
champion, she is used to that vantage point.
Interestingly, the two also hold an unofficial Guinness
World Record. This year they became the first husband/wife
team in any top tier motorsports activity to both place
first at the same venue on the same day. And they did
this not just once but twice - in California and in
Texas. This distinction is just one of the "joint
achievements" that they share. The couple have
been married four years and together run the Joe Byrd
Quad Riding School on their ten acres of rolling Tennessee
countryside.
The way things are going, it is a very strong possibility
that the Byrd family will also share a double title
this year. Both husband and wife have been consistent,
and extremely fast. When asked about his title shot
this year Joe was philosophical, "I think I have
a really good chance at the title. I am prepared, the
quad is good, and I have a great team. At each race
though there are four or five guys who can win... it's
really competitive. If I can avoid trouble, stay consistent,
and with a little luck, I hopefully will be in a race
for the championship at the end."
Good luck to you both!
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