Out of the Blue | Rachel Gutish | Brought to You by Schrader’s

By Jensen Amyotte

Name: Rachel Gutish

Date of Birth: March 10th, 1996

Hometown: Terre Haute, IN

Occupation: Professional motorcycle racer 

Race Number: 417

Bike: GasGas 350f

Race Club: Saddleback East

Classes: Women’s Pro

Who/what inspired you to get into racing and how long have you been racing/riding? 

My dad raced when he was younger and owned a motorcycle dealership for most of my childhood. I am the oldest of three girls, and was given a KTM 50 as soon as I learned to ride a bicycle with no training wheels. Both my sisters still ride recreationally, but neither of them had the same competitive drive that I do. 

When not on a dirt bike, how do you keep yourself busy? Are you involved in any other sports or extracurricular activities?

The dirt bikes keep me busy enough – between racing 30+ national events a year, training, travel, etc., I don’t have much in the way of spare time. I mountain bike and lift weights, mostly for training but also for fun. I rarely make it happen, but I love indoor rock climbing as well. For non-athletic things, I like to cook, read and write, and I would enjoy having a garden if I was ever home long enough to take care of it. 

As far as other sports go, I was a pole vaulter back in high school and part of college.

As a racer, are there any obstacles you feel a female racer has to deal with that maybe a male racer does not?

Less opportunities than men, for sure. Things are way better here in the States than they were 11 years ago when I first started – but the pay gap is still substantial and there are many teams (Phoenix Honda, cough, cough) that have directly told me they are not and will likely never be interested in hiring a female at any level for any degree of support.

I understand the economic argument that because we garner less attention (and the whole point of sponsorship is advertising and sales) we should make less, which is fair. My argument is that the gap is obscene and does not reflect the actual difference in attention.

Most top men down here have homes and wives and children. Under my contract this year I can afford to travel to the races (assuming I usually stay with friends or in my van), feed myself and pay my health insurance. By failing to support women, teams and companies also fail to market to a growing demographic of riders and half the adult population. Continuing to grow women’s riding and racing is crucial, both from my own personal perspective and that of more riders equaling greater health for the industry as a whole.

It’s almost a feedback loop in a way – when women see other women racing at any level I think it provides encouragement to coax them into a rewarding and lifelong hobby – and the more female riders and racers there are, the more likely teams will see the value in having professional female riders. 

From your first ride to where you are now, what is something you never thought you would be able to overcome but have?

I never really doubted my ability to make it to this level, to be honest… though I have sometimes doubted my ability to win championships because the competition at the top is so close.

Who is your all-time favourite rider and why?

I have always admired both Taylor Robert and Ryan Sipes – both for their contributions for our country at the ISDE, as well as their versatility. Both of them have been successful at a wide range of disciplines. I’ve always considered myself to be a Jack-of-all-trades and I admire that quality in other riders as well. 

What is your favourite track and why?

The Snowshoe GNCC. I have a soft spot for the beauty of West Virginia anyway, and the Blackwater-style live start in the middle of the ski village is unique. Aside from the ambiance, the trail is rocky and gnarly and often brutal, which is exactly the way I like it.

Do you have a pre-race rituals?    

On race mornings before GNCCs I always have a protein waffle and a banana because that’s all I feel comfortable keeping down. Does this count? (Laughs) Not sure why, and it’s only at GNCCs, at our enduros I can eat leftover salmon and broccoli for breakfast 15 minutes before the start and be okay. The only other thing is if it is an event I am stressed about, I like to meditate a little and listen to calm/chill music – I’ve found that for me personally, I make dumb decisions when I get too excited, so getting “pumped up” is counterproductive for me.

What are your plans for this upcoming season? Any specific events you’re looking forward to?

I’m formally contracted for GNCC and NEPG, so I know about those for sure. However, I’ll probably do most of the US Sprints, hope to be on our USA ISDE team (she was), might try sneaking away to EnduroCross (she did and is leading the series heading into the final round this weekend in Reno) to defend the title I’m the favorite to win this weekend and shout-out to you Canadians, I’d like to come back for another try at the Corduroy Enduro. 

Who knows, though – I love to race so if you see me at an EnduroGP in Europe or the Tecate Enduro in Mexico or maybe even Loretta Lynn’s, just for the heck of it – it may be unlikely but don’t be surprised either. 

What are your biggest accomplishments to date?

2x ISDE world champion (team).

3x ISDE gold medalist*

X Games Bronze Medalist (EnduroCross)

2x US Extreme Enduro Champion

6x Tennessee Knockout winner 

ISDE special test winner 

4th O/A Individual ISDE

100+ national level pro podiums 

GNCC, NEPG, EnduroCross, US Sprint Enduro race winner 

*medaling system at the ISDE works as follows – total time within 10% of overall winner of your division = gold. 30% = silver. Finished without houring out = bronze 

What is the biggest lesson that motocross/off-road has taught you so far?

Learning to persist despite rejection and disappointment. Sometimes you crash and blow an easy win. Sometimes your team doesn’t renew you or you don’t get the contract you wanted. There are losses and injuries and failures. Sometimes (like this past week at the ISDE, riding hundreds of kilometers through unforgiving terrain with a separated AC joint and broken ribs) racing can genuinely suck.

But from my earliest days on a 50cc, I was taught to not be a quitter. It’s okay to make mistakes, to get hurt, to break the bike, to lose and suffer and even to cry… so long as you keep going. 

Don’t quit. Anything can happen. And even if it doesn’t, you can hold your head high and be proud of yourself for always putting forth your best effort. That’s something that applies in every facet of life, not just racing.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

I hope to still be racing professionally because my goal is to do 15 ISDE’s and so far I’m only at 8. So I hope to still be racing, still be on the ISDE team and hopefully have a few more number one plates up on the garage wall. 

Are there any females out there who you feel have paved the way for other girls to be successful in motocross or off road?

Oh, more than I could possibly mention! But for the sake of keeping it short, I’ll mention just three that I have personal connections with/served as mentors to me, who have accomplished major things in this sport:

Maria Forsberg – first factory-supported women’s rider in GNCC. X Games gold medalist. First woman to overall a GNCC 10am race 

Mandi Mastin – I can’t remember the exact number but she has well over 20 national titles between GNCC, NEPG and AMA East Harescrambles. She was also a club rider at ISDE against the men, and a member of Team USA’s winning Women’s World Trophy team at the first ever ISDE to feature a women’s division. She and her family are still heavily involved with Team USA’s ISDE efforts.

Nicole Bradford – Also a member of that same ISDE team, and the first woman to complete the ISDE on schedule, without losing any route points. She raced in the X Games while in her 40s, an achievement in itself. She has also gone out of her way to promote women’s racing, both through her business and by encouraging and mentoring younger riders. 

What kind of track/dirt do you feel you excel at most and why? 

Muddy, rocky, horrible, technical. Basically, if 90% of the field hates it, you can guarantee I’ll like it. I grew up doing relatively technical trail rides (at least for a kid on little bikes) with my dad and his friends, and they almost never helped me unless I physically could not get the bike through. This was for a purpose other than their amusement and “toughening me up” though – Back when I was a kid our local series didn’t have a girls or woman’s class. The boys I raced were always bigger and physically stronger. When they crashed it was no big deal, but when I did, if I crashed in the wrong spot it could cost me minutes. So the goal was to make me such a good technical rider that anything in a hard scramble would seem easy. I grew to love the challenge of trying to make it up a gnarly hill or over a challenging EnduroCross obstacle. So for me, in a GNCC or NEPG, the nastier the better. 

If you ever have children will you give them the option to race as well? 

Of course! I’m very uncertain still about whether I want kids, but if I have any I plan on having a strider bike in the nursery. I hope they enjoy the sport as much as I have… but hey, if they wanna play tennis or do ballet or anything else I’d support them in it. 

If you could give 1 piece of advice to a female of any age who wants to start riding what would it be?

There are lots of organizations now dedicated to helping women riders get started, in an environment that feels more friendly and welcoming than just showing up at a track and trying to make friends (but don’t be scared of that either! Most riders, male or female are almost always willing to help a newbie out, ours tends to be a friendly community). Anyway, organizations like Over and Out (my title sponsor), Babes in the Dirt, and Dirttastic are all excellent resources for a beginner. 

What was your first fear when you started riding and how did you overcome it? 

Jumping. It still kind of scares me (laughs). I’ve found being in the air on a bike to be a very unnatural feeling. I think I don’t like not having as much ability to correct problems and crashes hurt a lot more when they start 20ft up in the air. Essentially, I have to overcome it every time I am presented with a gap jump, and I just remind myself that my desire to win outweighs my fear, and if I just hit the thing a few times I’ll be comfortable. 

What was your first race number and how did you choose it?

My number is 417. Most people have a cool story, I don’t really. The AMA District 17 hare scramble series randomly assigned me the number 17, and I liked it. Maybe I liked the fact that it was the same as the district number, I don’t really remember because I was seven. But I kept it, adding a 3 or a 4 in front to make it compliant with the GNCC number requirements. The fact that it’s the same as my old district is kind of cool though, like I carry a little piece of my roots with me. 

Do you see yourself ever competing in the Canadian WMX Triple Crown series? 

Probably not, just because moto isn’t really my jam and it’d be a long haul for me… but like I said in my earlier answer to question 10, I love to race so I never really take anything off the table. 

What are your thoughts on the Canadian WMX Triple Crown series?

I don’t know enough about it to have strong thoughts  – however, I love that Canada has a proper motocross series for the women up there! The Racer-productions-inflicted collapse of American WMX infuriated me, even though it didn’t affect me personally. 

What do you like to do in the off season? 

I spend a couple weeks doing nothing physical, take some time around the holidays for my family, and don’t get on the bike much – but after that initial break I spend a lot of time in the gym physically preparing for the upcoming season. Depending on how successful my previous season was, I might have to work a temporary job (I have at various times substitute taught, landscaped, painted houses, worked in an Amazon warehouse, did a stint as a temporary postal carrier and delivered pizzas) to help finance my upcoming season. I only make money when I race, so December and January I’m income-less unless I take on a job.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I’m 27 and my main aim in life has been to avoid being a “real adult” and riding my dirt bike as much as I can… I think I’ve been pretty successful at it so far 😉

But when I’m done racing I want to work in the industry in some capacity, most likely either with the AMA or in moto journalism.

Who would you like to thank? 

First off, my parents. I wouldn’t be where I am now without them. The rest of my family too. David Quillen (DQ) and Thomas Stire for mechanical assistance. All of my friends and supporters, and of course my sponsors:

GasGas

Over and Out

Moose 

Arai

Nine2 

Wheel Worx 

Motul

FMF

Funnelweb filters

XC gear 

Enduro Engineering

Seat concepts

IMS

HBD motografix

Spyke’s of Lafayette 

Rekluse 

Engine Ice

Seat concepts

Steahly 

Innteck

SKF

Moose Balls

Acerbis 

Sidi

Motion pro

Motool slacker 

Nihilo Concepts

Rabaconda

DID

Dunlop