Motorcycle Racing
When the green flag dropped at 5:45 Saturday morning, Quinn Cody merged into a thick cloud of dust and the beginning of "the longest off-road race in the United States"- the infamous annual Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno desert race.
Over 250 teams of off-road enthusiasts in 23 divisions came to Nevada to race the tough desert terrain and endure the brutally hot temperatures and extreme elevation changes. Like the SCORE Baja races, the Vegas to Reno consists of a mixture of 4×4 trucks, ATVs, motorcycles and professionally-built race vehicles often approaching up to 110 mph in remote areas.
Quinn’s goal for this year’s Vegas to Reno was a private one.
Quinn Cody says: "I was going for a personal accomplishment. I’ve always wanted to ride the Vegas to Reno solo and this was my year to do it."
On board his JCR Honda CRF450X race bike, Quinn also figured that his riding endurance would increase with a solo run here and would prove invaluable at his upcoming Ensenada to La Paz Baja 1000 run with the JCR Racing Honda Team.
From the beginning Quinn said he wasn’t going to try for a win on his solo Vegas to Reno ride, but it turns out you just can’t keep a good racer down. At 30 miles into the 533-mile race Quinn was riding in second place, one minute behind the Jerry Parsons-Anthony Westbury Yamaha team, (overall winners of this year’s Parker 250).
For the next 200 miles Quinn’s JCR Honda CRF450X shadowed Parson’s Yamaha. Until the two reached a massive Nevada desert sand wash.
Quinn Cody says: "I’d already changed tires by that point, but Parson’s tires were spinning in the sand wash," Quinn said "it gave me the advantage I needed and I passed him. He never really got close to me again."
After he crossed the finish at Dayton, Nevada with a finish time of 9 hours, 21 minutes and 18 seconds and no other riders in site, an amazed sports commentator, George Antill of Tracking International LIVE, asked in the post race televised interview, "How does it feel to know you’re the only racer in the history of the Vegas to Reno ever to win this race riding solo?"
Quinn Cody says: "Well, I came here just wanting to ride solo, finish and have a good race. I did all that … and won too….wow! It feels really great!"
