Gary Sutherlin

Not sure why but it sure is a shame. One week after going on the Yamaha wall of champions too. Hoping someone pulls through for him. Maybe KTM will save the day.

Purvines dropped him...Destry Abbott and Cooper Abbott (maybe all DA8 riders). From what Destry posted on facebook, they all learned about getting dropped when the team posted a press release. Unprofessional?

Sad deal...

I did see that Husky dropped Jake Argubright...Gary Southerlin would be perfect for that spot...and certainly deserves it!

The team he raced for- Purvines Racing- is privately funded. Apparently, the team will not continue at the same level as 2017.

Titan1 wrote:

Purvines dropped him...Destry Abbott and Cooper Abbott (maybe all DA8 riders). From what Destry posted on facebook, they all learned about getting dropped when the team posted a press release. Unprofessional?

Sad deal...

I did see that Husky dropped Jake Argubright...Gary Southerlin would be perfect for that spot...and certainly deserves it!

Husky hired someone else for West Coast offroad racing. I haven't seen a press release or social media regarding this, so I'll leave it at that.

Titan1 wrote:

Purvines dropped him...Destry Abbott and Cooper Abbott (maybe all DA8 riders). From what Destry posted on facebook, they all learned about getting dropped when the team posted a press release. Unprofessional?

Sad deal...

I did see that Husky dropped Jake Argubright...Gary Southerlin would be perfect for that spot...and certainly deserves it!

Xeno wrote:

Husky hired someone else for West Coast offroad racing. I haven't seen a press release or social media regarding this, so I'll leave it at that.

I hadn't heard that...I heard about Sutherlin and Jake at roughly the same time, so I was kind of hoping there was a connection. To bad for both of them.

Is Strang coming out West again? His last stint on the West Coast didn't go as well as planned, but I don't think he was fully recovered from his badly broken leg at that time.

I guess we will wait and see.....

Unreal. What does a guy have to do to keep a ride? Sheesh. Hope he finds a ride quickly.

That sucks for all involved. But i can certainly understand a company scaling back their effort. MX and SX teams are a tough road as it is. I gotta think an off-road team would be damn near impossible.

Xeno wrote:

The team he raced for- Purvines Racing- is privately funded. Apparently, the team will not continue at the same level as 2017.

I had forgotten that it was privately funded by Ron Purvine, and that he just loved to go racing and support how he could.

Destry's Facebook post was nothing but professionalism

Rockstar Husky off-road added Dalton Shirey, there was a PR on their social media about it.

I haven't heard/seen anyone talk about it, but I was very surprised in the Factory KTM Off Road team press release, Kailub Russel will be racing out west this year in the WORCS series. That came out of nowhere.

Nothing to add in regards to the rumors of his lost ride or not, but sweet jesus can that boy ride!! The dude was on rails at Cahuilla a couple weeks back! And I ain't talkin' 90's moto rails.

Zeke27G wrote:

Nothing to add in regards to the rumors of his lost ride or not, but sweet jesus can that boy ride!! The dude was on rails at Cahuilla a couple weeks back! And I ain't talkin' 90's moto rails.

That one took me a second Zeke

MelonFan123 wrote:

Rockstar Husky off-road added Dalton Shirey, there was a PR on their social media about it.

I haven't heard/seen anyone talk about it, but I was very surprised in the Factory KTM Off Road team press release, Kailub Russel will be racing out west this year in the WORCS series. That came out of nowhere.

Okay, I'm a couple days behind! Here's a link to the Husky announcement: https://dirtbikemagazine.com/dalton-shirey-joins-rockstar-husqvarna-factory-racing/

And, Kailub Russell will contest the AMA Big 6 series- not the WORCS series. It suprised me too, but perhaps his contract calls for 2 offroad series? Maybe the Big 6 schedule has the least overlap with GNCC?
The West Coast GP series should be really good next year!

Vital's powers know no bounds. Somebody's gotta be able to get a bike under the reigning champ!?!

I'm good friends with the Purvines family and raced for them when they were on Betas a few years ago. Let's just say Ron forked out A LOT of money this year and when Yamaha didnt step up at all after winning 2 championships for them, he decided he wasnt going to spend that kind of money again.
I agree fully with the business decision Ron made, but he probably should have communicated it better to Destry and Gary.

TallonT911 wrote:

I'm good friends with the Purvines family and raced for them when they were on Betas a few years ago. Let's just say Ron forked out A LOT of money this year and when Yamaha didnt step up at all after winning 2 championships for them, he decided he wasnt going to spend that kind of money again.
I agree fully with the business decision Ron made, but he probably should have communicated it better to Destry and Gary.

I heard a similar story, but I was told the Purvines were really counting on Destry to help land more Yamaha support and it didn’t happen. Sounded like Gary might not have meshed well personality wise either, but take that with a grain of salt because my info is second hand.

Isn’t Gary with the chick that ran the KTM amateur team?

Thad Duvall is out West training right now, I think he is going to do some of the Big 6 races also. Maybe he’s coming out West? I thought for sure he’d stay East; Thad is a true Appalachian and has the speed to win both NEPG and GNCC titles if he stays healthy.

flopper12 wrote:

Thad Duvall is out West training right now, I think he is going to do some of the Big 6 races also. Maybe he’s coming out West? I thought for sure he’d stay East; Thad is a true Appalachian and has the speed to win both NEPG and GNCC titles if he stays healthy.

I think he's just doing it for some offseason racing/testing, from what I know he is headed back to the NEPG and GNCC

Edit: meant to quote Cooksey

Yeah Destrys job for Purvines was to bring in sponsors, which didnt happen. Not a bash on Destry, more of a sign of tough it is in the industry right now. Gary might not have meshed perfectly but i dont think that had anything to do with it. i know roughly what Ron paid Gary after bonuses last year and what it would cost for them to go racing with him next year and they were big, especially when its all out of Rons pocket.

Beta or Gas Gas will probably hire Gary.

endurox wrote:

Beta or Gas Gas will probably hire Gary.

Beta would be awesome!

endurox wrote:

Beta or Gas Gas will probably hire Gary.

Gas Gas doesn't have a 450...no bueno for WORCS and Hare and Hounds...

endurox wrote:

Beta or Gas Gas will probably hire Gary.

He's gonna need a better bike than that if he wants to hang with Taylor Robert next year...

Jmicmoto13 wrote:

Unreal. What does a guy have to do to keep a ride? Sheesh. Hope he finds a ride quickly.

Help their sponsors make money instead of losing bucket loads of cash?

kkawboy14 wrote:

Help their sponsors make money instead of losing bucket loads of cash?

Fair enough statement but he won two titles. I meant how much more exposure could he create for a sponsor?

Off road needs to get better exposure. I've never heard of Gary Sutherlin, or Shirey for that matter. I know who Destry Abbott, Cody Webb and Colton Haaker are and who they ride for. I've heard of Strang, Duvall, Russell and Aubright and I know very little about any of them, I know that Russell rides for KTM and seems to be their top guy is about it.

These guys need to up their social media game. Your average joe MX guy or weekend warrior have no idea who they are or what brands they represent.

TallonT911 wrote:

I'm good friends with the Purvines family and raced for them when they were on Betas a few years ago. Let's just say Ron forked out A LOT of money this year and when Yamaha didnt step up at all after winning 2 championships for them, he decided he wasnt going to spend that kind of money again.
I agree fully with the business decision Ron made, but he probably should have communicated it better to Destry and Gary.

First off just a heads up gelling with the team was never a issue. And I had a 3 year deal, if he didn’t want to spend that much which is nobody’s business but ours then he shouldn’t have made the contract then. Cutting a guy on top because you don’t want to pay them what was signed is bullshit. Anyone that wants to know the facts I’m always open to chat so feel free to reach out and ask.

flopper12 wrote:

Thad Duvall is out West training right now, I think he is going to do some of the Big 6 races also. Maybe he’s coming out West? I thought for sure he’d stay East; Thad is a true Appalachian and has the speed to win both NEPG and GNCC titles if he stays healthy.

Russles leading with Duvall in second at the big 6 GP in havasu right now