A conversation with Mike Purcell and Phil Hughes, of Team OCCRA
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| Mike Purcell airs out Team OCCRA's mighty 450R on the motocross track. |
ATV Scene: Why did you come here
several times months prior to the race to help build the track?
Purcell: We're not smart in Oklahoma.
We just do what we want to do and to hell with responsibility and work. Hopefully
our wives are with us on this. In all honesty it's a love for the sport, simple
as that.
ATV Scene: Speaking of a love
for the sport, just what is your involvement with the Oklahoma Cross Country
Racing Association?
Purcell: Phil and I have been
with the OCCRA for about 19 years. We were club directors, then race directors
and next year we're probably going to run for president. Our membership is 580
strong. Injuries are down and the organization is doing well. We basically give
the riders a fun two hours then send them to work in one piece on Monday. Bottom
line, we know cross country racing very well and we're happy to help share our
knowlege.
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| Phil Hughes takes it from here. |
ATV Scene: How do you think the
innaugural Maxxis 6 Hours of ATV America went?
Purcell: When we saw the soil
we knew this would be a good track. And it was. Combine this with all the first
rate promotion you guys put into it and there's no doubt that it would be a
big success. And it was just that.
ATV Scene: How many Oklahoma riders
do you think followed you here?
Purcell: We had about 20 riders
from OK. They loved it, and they'll all be back for sure.
ATV Scene: Now on to your own
race in the Plus 30 class. How did it go for you guys?
Purcell: We raced just for fun
and didn't take it real series. Our whole attitude was to enjoy the day and
go from there. Of course our competitive nature wouldn't let us just lay down
though. In fact, right from the start we were going to trip our closest competitor,
a buddy of ours, while running to the quads on the start. In doing so I ended
up on the ground myself and started dead last. I guess that's what I get for
messing around.
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| The sweet taste of victory. In one of the most exciting races of the day, Mustang, OK's Mike Purcell and teammate Phil Hughes won the +30 class by a mere few seconds. |
ATV Scene: Besides trying your
three stooges act on the starting line, what was your strategy?
Purcell: We were going to have
fun for two hours and see where we were from there. We were right there in the
hunt so we kept putting in good consistent laps, but never rode too hard. It's
all about attrition, we were prepared. We were 15 seconds up on the last lap.
Then they pulled along side of Phil on the last lap. We ended up winning by
a few seconds and got 9th overall.
ATV Scene: Hey Phil. What's
with the ole man on your team? Couldnt you find a 31 year old to team up with?
And why only two riders?
Hughes: Mike may be 58 but I honestly
can tell you he beats all the young guys. There was no dissadvantage on our
team that's for sure. We also ran a bone stock quad, (Honda's new 450R). We
even left the stock radials on it, which give a smoother ride and dont tire
you out as much. Not many people believe us on that though. I guess you could
call us the turtle today. We were prepared and we just kept steadily moving
along. At the end of the day we beat the rabbits, won our class and did pretty
well overall.
ATV Scene: What's in the future?
Hughes: This was a fantastic event
and we love the whole concept. Everything about these races are a class act,
including the new scoring system. This thing is really going to fly when more
riders get hooked like we are.
Back to the 6 Hours of ATV America at Caddo Point
