I came across these two photos last week and I thought they’d be perfect for Throwback Thursday. These were taken in 2008 by Paul Mason at the final round of the Nationals at Walton Raceway. Although they’re obviously of two different riders (Blair Morgan and JSR), they intersect in a few different ways. As it turned out, after more than a decade of success, that day in Walton was the final National for both.
For JSR, racing that day on his YZ250 two-stroke was his first National of the year and he was using it as preparation for his farewell race a month later in Montreal. He qualified very well at Walton and ran near the front in the first MX1 moto only to drop back a bit and finish just inside the top ten. Sore and tired of eating roost, JSR decided he’d seen enough and sat out the second moto, thus putting an end to an outdoor career that was nothing short of spectacular. From 1991 until 2008, JSR won multiple Pro titles including five MX1 titles in a row from 2001 to 2005. A month after this photo was taken JSR went out the way every athlete dreams about – winning the Montreal SX in front of 60,000 of his biggest fans. It was a fitting way for the king to exit his motocross stage.
The first time I ever saw Blair Morgan race was out west during the 1993 Nationals. He was number 734 on a Honda. Although his results weren’t great, he had some good speed. Off the track he was quiet, but a really nice guy. After a long career as a Pro that also included multiple number one plates in the late 1990s, Blair was having the time of his life in 2008 as he was healthy, confident and back up to speed. On this day at Walton he was flying on the track he loved so much. Fans got a glimpse of the old Blair Morgan as he carved through the deep ruts to finish an amazing second overall.
As we all know, Blair showed up a month later at the Montreal SX ready to end the season on a positive note. What happened next was one of those cruel things in life that never gets explained as there was no logical reason for it to happen. In practice at Montreal, Blair went down hard and landed very awkwardly. The result was a life changing injury and the end of a great racing career. It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since both of these fine riders have raced together and it’s definitely irony at its worst that their Pro careers ended on the same day. However, on the day that these two photos were taken, fans got to witness both riders giving their absolute best.