Posted April 14, 2006

MXers Joe and Heather Byrd at the Top of Their Game

(From a Yoshimura Press Release) Yoshimura-sponsored riders Joe and Heather Byrd are rarely far from podium heights in ATVA ITP/Moose Grand National Championship Motocross action.

In fact, most Sundays that is exactly where you will find them.

After five rounds of the GNC Series, both Byrds, who are husband and wife, 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 (Joe Byrd Quad Riding 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—he's 6-foot-5—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. Heather is the veteran rider of the two.

"I was really small—really itty bitty," Heather explains. "My dad wanted me to ride a dirtbike 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."

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.

They've been married four years and together run the Joe Byrd Quad Riding School on their four 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 and stay consistent, I should be able to win it no problem."

© 2006, All Terrain Vehicle Association