Cody Conquers Vegas to Reno - By Himself

Mark Kariya | August 23, 2010

Many said it couldn’t be done, but Quinn Cody proved them wrong when he became the first solo rider to claim the overall motorcycle victory in the 14-year history of the TSCO Vegas to Reno desert race on August 20.

Round five (for the bikes) of Best in the Desert’s American Off-road Racing Series saw Johnny Campbell Racing Honda’s Cody chase RPP Racing Yamaha-mounted Jerry Parsons and Anthony Westbay for most of the first 300-plus miles of the 534-mile-long sprint between Beatty and Dayton, Nevada.

But when they reached one long, rough, uphill sand wash where the dust wasn’t as bad, Cody realized his chance was at hand and dashed into the lead, enjoying nothing but clean air from there to the finish, which he reached in nine hours, 21 minutes and 18 seconds, unofficially. Parsons and Westbay easily held on for the runner-up spot in 9:35:06.

“I didn’t come into it with the idea to win it,” CRF450X-mounted Cody declared. “I just came into it just to come and ride and have a good time. I mean, I’m always ready for if things go my way, then I’m ready to go, but I wasn’t really coming here to battle [KTM’s David] Pearson and those guys.”

Unfortunately, bad luck hit Pearson and several other contenders, making it a two-team race for the win.

Third bike overall went to the Open Expert trio of Clint Braun, Jesse Canepa and Robert Patterson on another RPP Racing WR450F in 9:56:37. Over 30 Pro winners Rex Cameron and Mike Johnson were fourth overall bike in 9:57:21 on their CRF450X with the Robert Hunter team winning Four-stroke Expert and rounding out the top five bikes overall on their CRF450X in 10:00:01.

Cody Conquers Vegas to Reno – By Himself