2017 24 Hours of Glen Helen
2017 24 Hours of Glen Helen Report —
After twenty-four hours of intense competition, and overcoming the challenges of a day-long race, the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, Precision Concepts Kawasaki team came away victorious at the 2017 24 Hours of Glen Helen. Team rider Justin Seeds was joined by Blayne Thompson, Michael Del Fante and Travis Damon to take on the monster of an event. The team faced a race-long battle from the Ox Motorsports Honda team as the two exchanged the lead numerous times.
During the night, Seeds and company began pulling away, building a lead of over twelve minutes. Then, around three in the morning, team began suffering issues with the battery setup for their headlights. A couple broken tabs on one of the battery mounts at the handlebars caused havoc as the mount broke off and damaged the connecting wires.
The team had to stop numerous times to continually fix the battery setup to the best of their ability. The lengthy pit stops at each rider change had the team anxiously waiting for daylight to come. As the sun began to rise the following day, the team had lost all of their advantage and would drop to second, just under a minute behind the Ox team.
Once the sun came up, meaning the battery problems were no longer an issue, everyone on the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC team dug deep to claw their way back into the race. With about an hour left, the team was able to take the lead back and it would be an all-out sprint to the finish. Over the final laps, the Rocky Mountain team showed the grit and pace needed. They would pull away to a comfortable three minute margin at the checkers and take the 2017 24 Hours of Glen Helen victory.
It Takes a Village…
The challenges of simply finishing the event are immense. To be able to race at the highest level takes such passion and commitment from everyone involved with the effort. The riders pour every part of themselves into the race when they have nothing left to give. Likewise, everyone in the pits who stays up for well over twenty-four hours to maintain the equipment shows dedication to the goal. Moreover, those behind the scenes in the pits—cheering on the riders, feeding the riders and mechanics, and being a support system for everyone involved—are such an integral part of the team. Everyone involved deserves acknowledgement for the part they played to make such a brutal event a very successful one.
Media
The riders have to dig so deep, physically and emotionally, to finish an event like the 24 Hour. To come away victorious makes all of the sacrifice that much more rewarding.
This was Justin Seeds’ second 24 Hours of Glen Helen victory. Justin took on the responsibility of starting the race for the team and showed his pace and strength over the entire day-long event, turning some of the fastest times in daylight and in darkness.
Blayne Thompson is no stranger to the 24 Hour event and it showed. Blayne was often the fastest rider on the course and seemed to finish the race as strong as he started.
This was Michael Del Fante’s first time competing in the pro class at the 24 Hours of Glen Helen, but you wouldn’t have known it. Michael showed consistent speed and poise handling the brutality of the event.
Like Del Fante, this was Travis Damon’s first time racing for twenty-four hours in the pro class and he had no problem stepping up to the challenge. Travis showed plenty of pace and grit during the day and night as he helped the team emerge victorious.
Justin Seeds GoPro
Open Pro Results
- Justin Seeds, Blayne Thompson, Michael Del Fante, Travis Damon
- Colton Udall and team
- Preston Campbell and team
- Ian Young and team
- Kolton Lynn and team
Click Here to view full results.
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