RACE EVENT STORIES | Whiplash Off-Road Racing, Snowflake AZ. Race ~ Sept 5, 2009
======================================================== Patty and I decided to try a different race this year, and traveled to Arizona over the Labor Day Weekend to the Whiplash Snowflake Race. We had raced there once before in 2006. The weather was about 75 degrees all weekend with some thunderstorms off and on. What a big change from the 105 degree So Cal Heat we have been having. The 125-mile UTV race was on Saturday afternoon and the rain poured down for four hours until about one hour prior to the race. The race was five 25-mile laps and was a muddy mess. I started about 20th overall and began passing a few cars half way through the first lap. A few really fast UTV's passed me also on the first lap but me and my co-pilot, Todd Johnson, kept pushing hard. We had a great race with just a few small mistakes and my RZR had no problems at all, just a little underpowered still. I finished 6th overall out of 28 Pro UTV's and had a blast! Thanks for everyone's help and support to get me back out racing again. I can't wait till the next race. My next race will be the WORCS race in Mesquite, NV in October. Thanks to all my sponsors: Red Bull, HRT Motorsports, MasterCraft, Alpinestars, Troy Lee Designs, Dragonfire Racing, Fox Shox, FMF, Scott Goggles, Leatt Chris Blais | 
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| Chris' UTV Race - Lake Havasu, AZ - WORCS (March 09)
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Ok, so I forget how competitive these WORCS races are. HOLY COW!!!
Chris raced the Open Pro class for the UTV race. I guess there are 3 classes now. Anyway, he wanted to start up front so he chose this class. As I see all the beefed-up machines pulling up to the start line, I was thinking "oh no"! I told Chris he better get a good start otherwise these guys were going to Eat Him Alive!
My friend Robin (male) rode with Chris. They got an awesome start so Chris was in about 6th or 7th position out of 15 or so on row 1. The course was so twisty, tons of turns, and as you know... sand!
They let the UTV's race the whole course! Anyway, Chris moved up to 4th and then was in 3rd for a while (2nd place broke down or something).
Anyway, Chris and the guy behind him were going at it the whole time. They were nerfing each other back and forth, and changing spots back and forth. Chris was faster in the desert part, and this guy was faster on the track. Anyway, Chris and Robin ended up 4th overall out of about
20 vehicles! It was really awesome and Chris did so great. He said his arm got really tired from all the turning. HA! And he has a few more dents in the Razr now too. Good stuff! My friend Robin said this was the funnest thing he's ever done and was so pumped. Chris was so proud
of himself. He was SO happy!
Patty | | On Sunday, November 9th, 2008 Lake Elsinore GP
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OK, did my first race with Chris yesterday at the .
While sitting on the line and watching the carnage of the first wave taking off right in our line had me a bit worried. There were four cars crashed into each other on the first turn 20 feet off the starting line!
Then I did not even expect it or see the flagger only being like 10-15 seconds later we flew off the line and into the same corner on the inside line. This modified car that entered our class was having an idea to go off the course to the right of us and Chris was smooth at just moving over far enough to the left that he never hit us but that we just keep pulling away and we were like fourth place at the second corner.
Then we were moving out around the back side of the course and seen cars passing us off course while were flying over the jumps on one of the motocross courses.
Later we thought we had a flat on the right front, but after seeing all the carnage of broken cars around the course we figured if we just finish the race we would probably win.
Then Chris stopped at a trailer near the side of the track where there were like 10 people and asked them how the tires looked and they yelled they are good. Well after they said that there was no holding Chris back then, we started picking cars off one by one after that!
We missed making another lap by like 30 seconds, but we found out later that it wouldn't have mattered as the results had us in 2nd place and the guys in the modified car in the super stock class as finishing first, Bummer.
Wow what a really good ride, it was fun and very exciting! Chris must have gave me a good ride I guess as it wasn't as bad as everyone had lead me on to think it was going to be.
Well there was the one time we got real close to some spectators while nearly sideways on top of that greasy mud. And maybe the time I tried to turn the car with my fake handlebars I was hanging on to when the large limb from a tree missed MY SIDE OF THE CAR by only 2 inches!
If I get another chance, I will be in there with him again, but the wife says it is her turn next time!
Video coming soon. by Martin Blais (Chris Father)
| On Saturday October 11th, 2008 Pismo Beach CA.
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Red Bull KTM Dakar Rally Racer and Off-Road Desert Racer Chris Blais, will be participating in his first race since being seriously injured with a broken vertebra and spinal injury in August of 2007.
Chris will be racing in Pismo Beach CA, at California's Oceano Dunes Beach Race & Festival which is being put on by CCMA - Central Coast Motorcycle Association Foundation.
Blais will be racing his UTV, a Polaris RzR, that has been set up with hand controls and many safety features including an aftermarket roll cage, doors, netting, and 5-point harnesses. His co-pilot will be Eric Harness, Director of Research and Development at Chris' rehab center "Project Walk" in Carlsbad, Ca. Harness will be speaking at the Charity Dinner & Classic Motorcycle Display on Friday night.
The races will be held October 10-12 in Pismo Beach at California's Oceano Dunes. There will be motorcycle and ATV races, as well as UTV races, a charity dinner and motorcycle display on Friday night and a BBQ dinner on Saturday night. All proceeds from this event will go towards spinal cord injury research and awareness, and towards injured motorcycle racers with spinal injuries. This event was formerly a WORCS event but is now being presented solely by CCMA with various sponsors such as SCI Research Advancements and the Clayton Memorial Foundation. |
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