A Family Affair: BTOSports.com/BBMX/Palmetto Suzuki

It's typical for a race team to say, "We're a family," and BTOSports.com/BBMX/Palmetto Suzuki is a family in the true sense of the word. Founded and managed by the Butler brothers, team owner and manager Forrest Butler recently gave us a look inside this professional AMA Supercross and Motocross team.

The team's origins stem from 2002, when Forrest and two of his three brothers raced as privateers. They started the official team in 2004, and one year later made racing their business by founding Butler Brothers MX.

Currently, Butler Brothers MX fields Michael Byrne and Jason Thomas in the 450 class of AMA Supercross competition. Byrne and Thomas ride Suzuki RMZ450s equipped with LeoVince full systems.

Forrest says there have been a lot of ups and downs since the team began, "but here we are in 2011 focusing on being a high-profile 450 premier-class team with one of the best privateers in the world, Jason Thomas, and one of the highest-profile elite riders in the world, Michael Byrne."

The 2011 Supercross season hasn't been without its trials. Last November, Byrne broke his wrist and was unable to return to competition until the San Diego round in February. Thomas went through a string of bad luck, but is showing a lot of growth as a rider.

"Overall, he is much faster than he was last year and is riding excellent against arguably the deepest field of 450s in history," Forrest says. "He fired off at the opener in Anaheim with a 15th and I think you will see him get even higher when the series moves back east."

That 15th-place finish at Anaheim is a highlight of the season so far, though there are plenty of rounds left. For the privateer BTOSports.com/BBMX/Palmetto Suzuki squad, it represents a solid privateer effort against the toughest field of the season to date.

Sponsors like Leo Vince USA play a big role in keeping a privateer team like BTOSports.com/BBMX/Palmetto Suzuki racing. "The sponsors are huge; they are the bloodline of the team's income and how we go racing. Sponsors could put all their money into magazine or web advertisements if they wanted to, but racing is a different core group of fans," says Forrest. "And the sponsors that back the teams that fans love win the hearts of the fans."

There is plenty to keep the Butler brothers busy away from the race track. Filling the role of both team owner and team manager adds an extra level of stress to the daily routine for Forrest. "The owner side is tough because the puck stops on me: if the money isn't coming in, the team isn't racing. Luckily we have very good big sponsors and the team is doing very well thanks to them," says Forrest.

Racing is held on the weekends, which leaves Monday through Thursday for taking care of team business. Forrest says, "My brother Karsten is the other team manager and he handles all the logistics for the team travel-wise. Dan Truman is our head technician and he handles the technical side of the team. Then of course each individual on the team does their own job and then some, and at the end of the day, my job is a lot easier and a lot less stressful because I have such a solid team behind me."

While Forrest and his brother Karsten focus on running the team, the rest of the team is facing a never-ending stream of mechanical work. Rebuilds, new parts, and constant tuning for optimum performance are ongoing tasks.

"Our sport is progressing too quickly to ever take a break. As far as I am concerned, we are always trying to improve in any way we can," Forrest says. "This year we made a big step with adding Byrne, but we did it for the growth of the team. It was time to go to the next level and hopefully by the end of Supercross, we will have achieved stuff we have yet to do thus far."

Keep up with the constant progress of BTOSports.com/BBMX/Palmetto Suzuki online at www.butlerbrothersmx.com or at your local AMA Supercross round.

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