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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Yoshimura Sponsored Riders - Joe and Heather
Byrd - at the Top of Their Game
 CHINO,
CA - April 12, 2006 - Yoshimura
sponsored riders Joe and Heather Byrd
are rarely far from podium heights these
days. In fact most Sundays that is
exactly where you will find them. After
five rounds of the GNC Series, both Byrds 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 - 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, (6'5" tall), 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. Surprisingly, Heather is the
veteran rider of the two - "I was
really small - really itty bitty,"
Heather explains. "My dad wanted me to
ride a dirt bike 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." And
Heather, we guess it still is. 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.? The
couple have 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."
Good luck to you both!
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