SnoCross Icon Blair Morgan Back At The Track
by Scott A. Sumner
It was a real honour to sit down with Blair Morgan in a Ski Doo race trailer at the 2015 Amsoil Duluth Snocross. This was his first time back to Duluth in many years!
How does it feel to be back at Spirit Mountain Blair?
“ It has been seven years since I have been back to Duluth. It is kinda like I never left. There is a lot of energy at Spirit Mountain. It is the first race of the year and everyone is itching to get out there and show what they got, the manufacturers improvements and what their sleds will be like.”
What role are you playing here at Duluth?
“I’m here with Ski Doo helping out some of their riders- mostly Tim Trembley. It has been really good. Tim found a good line in the Dominator race last night to win which was great.”
When did you first come to Duluth Blair?
“My first race here was in 1997 with Arctic Cat sleds against riders like Kirk Hibbert, Brad Pake, Toni Haikonen. I raced here until 2008 with many Pro wins.”
It was a very difficult accident for you at a Supercross race in Montreal?
“ Supercross is always pretty tough and I only did 1 or 2 supercross races a year myself. It was kind of a freak accident, not even a big crash. I had hurt my back before in 2003 but this time really did some damage. It has been seven years this September since the accident.”
What have you been doing since the accident Blair?
“ I am doing a lot of stuff at home with the kids. It was near the end of my career anyway when I got hurt so I took some time off. Now I might be coming to all of these races. I was 32 at the time of the accident and am now 40 years old. I had been racing motocross since age 12 so racing for 20 years. It was a good run. I have been following snocross racing, especially Tucker, and went to some motocross races. You can watch snocross now on Livestream which is great. There are many new faces out there I don’t know, just Tucker, Ross and a few other guys that I know.”
Where do you live now Blair and what is a normal day like for you?
“ I live in Prince Albert. A normal day is getting up with the kids to get to the school bus early, as we live out of the city. My son is in soccer. I managed his team and coach another soccer team 4 days a week. My daughter is in dance six times a week and goes to some other events in the Provincial series. We have a 1800 acre grain farm that my brother has taken over in our family.”
“ I have a side by side and still ride sleds in the wintertime. If it is not too cold I go out once and while. The Hall of Fame Induction was fun with Tucker.”
How are your progressing from your spinal cord injury?
“ It took a long time, honestly it took five years after the accident for me to get better. You arms get really tired as you use them so much and there are other aches and pains. It takes a long time because you can’t really do too much physical activity as well that helps the healing process. I don’t do training now, people ask me that, but I have to save my arms because I have to use them everyday. My elbows sometime get a bit sore or you can tweak a wrist.”
There have been some great advancements in spinal cord injuries?
“ I have seen Paul Thacker with the electronics on walking. It seems cool. It is pretty tough to fix a spinal cord so something electronic would be the first way to walk, technologically wise. I don’t think biology wise will be too soon but it would be the ultimate.”
So life is pretty good Blair?
“ Life is alright, the kid's are doing really well. It is fun to come back to the races. I was actually a bit nervous hoping my rider Tim would do well. I do miss racing but I’ve just turned 40. I still
ride snowmobiles around a bit but definitely had a nice career and took risks so am not really missing it a whole lot.”
It was great to see and talk to Blair Morgan. He has contributed so much to the sport of snocross and has a lot to offer in the future. Best of luck in your new role Blair!
