One of my favorite things about the Lanesplitter community is that most of you are enthusiasts (even if just sarcastic commenting enthusiasts). Tyler, a reader from Indianapolis, convinced the local endurocross event to let him open an class so he could race his Ural in the mud like a true ‘Splitter.
The Marion County Fairgrounds in Indianapolis holds “GonzoCross” races several times a year, which are basically enduro courses set up inside a flat track oval. This particular event had classes for 250s, pro, beginners, and kids - but no sidecar class. Three wheeled enthusiasts are an odd bunch and used to being left out, but he decided to write them and asked if they had a sidecar class they forgot to put on the bulletin and, to his surprise, they said they would open one up if he could find riders to fill it.
Tyler quickly convinced three of his buddies to join and, with his six year old son as monkey, they held the first ever Ural GonzoCross race. They ran two heats of four laps and, for the first race, Tyler was the only rider with a monkey. However, after the crowd watched these yahoos slip and slide their three wheeled beasts through the mud, they had people lined up offering their services to throw a little weight around.
Now, I’m convinced Tyler is either lying or had this all rigged somehow, but he managed to win both heats.
The Ural races were so popular, they had some of the largest crowds of the night and Tyler reports that they’ve already been approved to have a Ural class for the 2016 GonzoCross event.
If any of you live within riding distance of Indianapolis and have access to a sidecar, I think it’s your duty to head on out and give him a run for his money.
Photos: Tyler Klassen
Contact the author at sean.macdonald@jalopnik.com. Follow Lanesplitter on Facebook and Twitter.