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"I am proud to say that I raced in the
85th annual race. It’s hard to find the
words to express the emotions I felt during my
one week in Colorado Springs. Though, there were
many ups and downs throughout the week, the end
result made it all worth it. The locals kept telling
us that the mountain was very spiritual. We didn’t
know exactly what that meant until we actually
got to take our first run. Not only was my Area
51 TRX 450 engine running better than ever, but
it was reaching top speeds of 89 mph. With 151
turns, no guard rails on most corners, and maintaining
speeds of 60+ mph it was the most fun I have ever
had on my quad. I should also add that it was
the most frightening yet enlightening moment I
have ever had on my quad.
After breaking the qualifying record on my
third run of the first day of practice, things
looked very positive for the Area 51 team. Since
I achieved top qualifier, we were asked to display
my quad at their annual Fan Fest. Going into the
second day of practice things were good until
my second run; we had wiring problems. Luckily
for me, my sponsor, mechanic, and friend (Chad
Newman with Area 51) was there to assess and fix
the problem promptly. Without Chad being there
I would not have done as well as I did. He has
made flawless modifications to my TRX 450 and
has been the best mechanic I have had in my racing
career.
The third day of practice was an attention
getter. My Area 51 TRX 450 ran so strong that
it was just as fast as the majority of the quads
in the 500cc class. One of the other competitors
told us that if we won he would have my quad torn
down. They did not believe that it was a true
450 because my qualifying time would have placed
me 4th in the 500cc class out of twenty riders.
Come race day, everyone was in high spirits;
including the mountain. The energy from the fans
was intense. After the cars, trucks, and bikes
went blazing up the mountain it was finally time
for me to stake my claim. As the three of us sat
at the starting line waiting to take off side
by side, my thoughts turned to what Chad had been
telling me all week, “FOCUS, BREATHE, RELAX!”
Focusing and breathing wasn’t that hard,
but how exactly do you relax knowing there are
3,000 and 6,000 foot drop offs ahead of you? Relaxing
became a little easier once I realized the substantial
lead I had going into the third corner of the
race. It meant that I had a little leeway for
potential mishaps. There were in fact three of
those; and the last one occurred at Devil’s
Playground right in front of my large cheering
section that I wasn’t aware of having, but
the announcer sure noticed and let listeners know
as well.
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Steven
Tutt & Chad Newman(Area 51) |
Not only did I make it to the top, I made
it beating the division record by 1:00:24. Pikes
Peak was good to me and it has impacted my life.
I am already longing for more and I guarantee
that I will continue raising the bar each and
every year that I come back out to hold the title
and pay the mountain the respect it deserves.
They call it a race to the clouds and that is
exactly what it was for me; a race straight to
top of cloud nine."
#7 Steven Tutt
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