Chris' Stuff: Rattray looks back on debut AMA season - As a reigning world champion, Styla naturally had the full glare of the media spotlight on him.

RATTRAY LOOKS BACK ON DEBUT AMA SEASON
8 December 2009

Sometimes events rush at you with quite breathtaking speed, and the circumstances that envelop you take on a life of their own. As a spray of champagne welcomed Tyla Rattray at the end of the 2008 Italian GP, his life was irrevocably changed. He was now one of the very small group of people that could call himself a motocross world champion. Naturally, teams and sponsors were beating a path to his door, but his 2009 plans lay clear before him. Then, a confluence of circumstances developed into a whirlpool of cause and effect, and almost in the blink of an eye, the South African was headed for the home of the brave and the land of the free to pursue his lifelong dream of participating in the AMA motocross series.

As a reigning world champion, Styla naturally had the full glare of the media spotlight on him. There has been an age-old, (mostly) good natured ribbing between fans either side of the Atlantic as to which series is actually the most competitive, the world championship series which is contested mainly in Europe, or the US national championship series. Those really in the know realize that there are good riders on both sides of the big pond, and a reigning world champion certainly would have no trouble in raising the interest of knowledgeable team managers in the United States. So it came to pass then, that legendary Pro Circuit owner Mitch Payton found a vacant spot in his team line-up and in a mum of time, Tyla had an offer on the table. After some negotiation, KTM generously agreed to release him from his European-based contract, and the road was clear for the South African to don Monster Energy Pro Circuit colours for the 2009 season.

The pre-season flurry of activity was nothing in comparison to the action that awaited Tyla on the track. After settling in in his new digs, it was full speed ahead with testing and getting to know his new team and bike. After so many years on KTM motorcycles, he had to adapt to a new mount, but to a pro, this is never a problem. The anticipation was high going into the season opener at Glen Helen, and although he finished fifth in the first heat after a bad start, he came back with a bang in the second race. In a crowd-pleasing performance, he was involved in a titanic tussle with eventual race winner Ryan Dungey, finally grabbing the runner-up spot with a deficit of less than 1.5 seconds. This was good enough to gain him an invite to the podium for third overall, not a bad debut at all.

After an encouraging start, Tyla's season developed into a series of stable, if not spectacular results. The problems in this new environment were twofold - his starts and the propensity of the American riders to build their races with an explosion of aggressiveness in the early laps. He worked at his starting techniques on the concrete starting pads without fail, and soon started to master this skill as well, one that was not required during his world championship years in Europe. He also adjusted his race build up to come into the battle swinging as his opponents do. This paid dividends, and at Hi Point raceway he was again within a tad of the overall podium, all the while maintaining an overall fourth position in the championship standings.

The Independence Day race at Red Bud raceway brought no holiday cheer for the hapless South African. He was looking on fire throughout qualifying sessions and the early part of the race, and for once he was taking the battle to the championship leaders. His progress ended abruptly however with a thudding crash, and by the way he was holding his hand, it was clear that he was far removed from being a happy and healthy rider. A check-up confirmed the early diagnosis that he had broken his thumb, and his championship run ended then and there.

After a period of convalescence, Tyla was back in action in the latter part of the season. The click came upon his return to action at Southwick raceway. In the first race, he very nearly got collected by another bike when his trajectory intersected with that of another rider, and he had to recover from deep down in the field to finish sixth. The second race was vintage Tyla Rattray stuff, however. When he surged to the lead with a clear holeshot, all bets were off, and after seeing off some early opposition, he cleared off into the distance for his first victory on US soil. His race victory gifted him a second position overall, his best ever in the United States.

After a season that offered a bit of everything, Tyla finished ninth overall in the championship, largely due to his injury-induced layoff. He has a wealth of additional experience in the strongroom now, however, and looks forward to returning to the series in 2010 with renewed vigour. For the first time in his career, he will also participate in the US supercross series, and since this series starts early in the year, he has foregone his usual holiday trip to his native South Africa to focus 100% on his preparations for this tough discipline.