The 2008 RallyMoto championship was sealed at the Black River Stages event in Harrisville, NY by Mark Ely and his Aprilia SXV5.5. Congratulations to Mark and his incredible effort for the season as he locks up the championship with two rounds still remaining. But it was not without an interesting twist.
“While we were waiting at the start of the first stage, some of the riders asked about the championship standings and I told them that all I needed was to start the first stage to secure the championship,” explained rider Mark Ely. “I'm not superstitious but I was shocked when the bike stalled just after the countdown. Some of the other riders thought I was pulling a stunt. When using an Akrapovic exhaust on the Aprilia there’s a little guide that keeps the fuel line off the rear header. The hose slides against it when the tank is raised and lowered. It had been moving freely until this point when it stuck and resulted in a pinched fuel line. I was able to discover the problem and get back in the rally but the damage was done with over 15min lost.”
With no chance of making up that much time the pressure was off and Ely continued for practice and participation. During the rainy night stages Ely’s single beam of light was simply not enough. On the next head to head stage Mike Gilkey had a quick time by three seconds and a clear advantage with his dual eight inch lights.
The next day, Ely with the Aprilia posted a four second stage win proving that the SXV was still at the front of the pack. The remainder of the day was a challenge of wet weather riding with Ely and Gilkey swapping or tying fast times.
In the end…with the dominance that Ely and his Aprilia enjoyed all season, a start, albeit late, was enough to win his second championship in a row.
ElyRacing would like to extend special thanks to: ApriliaUSA, NoMar motorcycle tire changers, Enterprise rent a car, Eastcost wheels, BajaDesigns, BikeBandit.com, SixSixOne
The NASA (National Auto Sport Association)Rally Sport's RallyMoto™ program allows motorcycles to compete on closed roads in a stage rally format. There are transits on open, public roads connecting the stages, which are legally closed roads where fastest time wins. One rider leaves every sixty seconds, free to race the clock and the road to the best of their ability. If you've seen WRC, it's like that, only with bikes. If you've seen Dakar, it's like that, only much shorter, and on roads.
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