Sonora success for Sutherland

BALLARAT’S Matt Sutherland has claimed first place in the Enduro motorcycle class of Mexico’s Sonora Rally, his first ever multi-day navigation race.

The off-road competition through the Sonora Desert saw the 34-year-old tiler ride crosscountry over five days with only roadbooks for navigation.

Placing sixth overall, Sutherland completed the rally’s “gnarly” five stages of terrain in 20 hours, 10 minutes and 40 seconds, having travelled at 130kms an hour.

He was glad to make it to the finish line in one piece. Mentally exhausted, he had experienced faint roads, prickly cactus forests, hundreds of kilometres of huge sand dunes, rocky mountain passes and low-lying salt flats.

“I was very surprised and extremely happy with where I was considering this was my first navigation race,” he said. “I really wasn’t sure what to expect, it was very intimidating reading the line-up and knowing of at least 10 guys who are renowned off-road racers.”

Throughout the stages, Sutherland had a crash, lost his clutch, his bike overheated and a had few navigational errors, but his perseverance was fierce.

“Day two was wild. I limped across the line covered in thorns, blood and bruises. The sand dunes had taken everything I had that day,” he said.

Comfortable in rocky terrain, day three was his time to shine and he made his push.

“I set a goal to finish top 15, but more importantly, just finish the race,” Sutherland said. “It was good to see how I matched up with the pro riders so I’m already looking forward to next year and seeing what I can do with some experience.”

Sutherland launched his own motorcycle adventure tours through the back country of British Columbia this year. He invites Ballarat people to find out more and book in at mvma.squarespace.com.