Our Story
Rally Management Services grew out of my attempts at rally racing. I raced the El Chott Rally in Tunisia in 2002, then the Dakar in 2004 and again with my brother Dave and mechanic Mikey Krynock in 2005. For 2006, we enlisted the help of mechanics Niles Follin and Sid Milton, and Truck driver/crew chief Robb McElroy. We built our own bikes and a cool Ford F-350 assistance truck, sought sponsors, and tried, with some success, to field a professional team. We brought on rider Jonah Street, who had some impressive stage finishes and a good rookie 17th overall finish in the 2006 Dakar.
About this time, people began to ask how we built these rally bikes, how we got the rare parts, how we managed to arrange the logistics of a team in a big international race, and whether we could do this for them. We could. So, for the 2007 Dakar, we started our Rally School, we built 5 KTM 525 rally bikes and some more F-350s, and we arranged shipping and support for a team of privateers, including Rally PanAm riders Jonah and Casey McCoy. We brought 4 riders to the finish in Senegal. Partner Evan Leung came aboard to help with promotions, photography, networking and finance. Also, I began to use the connections made at rallies to bring rally racing equipment to the USA.
Rally Management Services has grown from there. The Rally School, with experienced instructors Dave Peckham and Phil Bowman (among others) has prepared dozens of riders for big events. Our F-350s, doubted by the Europeans at first, have become models for low-cost but effective assistance workhorses for the Dakar. We've helped riders and built bikes for rallies all over the world.
From the beginning, RMS has been focused on racing. Most of the money we made supported Rally PanAm. I have raced the Dakar 3 times and managed the Rally PanAm team 5 times. In 2009 we won a stage, and in 2010 we finished 7th. For 1012, we'll support American racers Jonah Street (factory Yamaha), Ned Suesse (KTM) and Bill Conger (Husquavarna) from our original F350 assistance truck. Our 2012 Dakar crew will consist of Robb McElroy, Niles Follin, Tim Morton and Ted Johnson. We learn what works from racing, and we plan to stay directly involved.
fun fun
Charlie
