A vertebrae injury two years ago ended Chris Blais' riding career, but it did not end his passion for the sport. Now, through his Blais Racing Services (BRS) parts and service business, the Red Bull KTM off-road star and three-time Dakar Rally veteran is in the business of hopping up customer rides and retailing many of the same parts that helped him attain success.

Services include race bike prep, repair and maintenance, and OEM and aftermarket parts sales of lights, billet radiator guards, skid plates, riding gear, steering dampers, exhaust systems, race radios, tools, tires, etc.

"The products that I am selling are items I have used on many of my own race bikes," Blais tells Dealernews. "I am currently only selling and promoting products made by others. I have thought about making some of my own products to sell, but I am still working on that."

BRS is primarily a one-man operation, with Blais working in the shop mostly on rebuilding engines and building race engines for customers. He specializes in KTM and Honda, but has the know-how to hop up just about any brand. Customers include Baja and long-distance desert racers who find out about BRS mostly through word-of-mouth.

"I have built my own engines and race bikes since I started racing on Honda in 2001," Blais says. "Even as a factory KTM rider, I still built my own bikes except for the rallies I participated in."

As for his future aspirations, Blais says becoming a dealer isn't out of the question. "That could be a possibility in the future," he says. "It took until just this year ... it took me a while to figure out what I was going to do, and how I was going to do it. I knew I wasn't going to be racing forever, so I've always tried to teach myself as many things as I could so that I'd always have something to fall back on.

"It's still damn hard to work on bikes again. There are still a few things I can't do, but I have friends I can rely on and my wife has been just awesome."

Are you a KTM or Husaberg dealer taking part in the famous Best in the Desert (BITD) Vegas to Reno race in August? If so, BRS is offering pit services to the first 20 KTM and Husaberg participants that sign up for his assistance.

As part of the service, BRS will have a team of three or more qualified support members at each of the eight pits for all three days of the race. BRS will carry extra parts, including spare wheels, air filters, etc. to help get participants through the end of the race. The crew also will supply premium 91 octane fuel and will pit the participating four-stroke and two-stroke KTMs and Husabergs. At the end of each day, BRS will have specialized technicians available to help prepare bikes for the following day's race if needed.

The support costs each racer $450, "But you would probably end up spending less money with the service than you would by doing it on your own," Blais says.

This is a service close to Blais' heart — he damaged his vertebrae in August 2007 as the result of a motorcycle crash in the desert near Tonapah, Nev., while pre-running this very race.

Blais says he is offering the service to ensure each person who enters this race on a KTM or Husaberg will only have to worry about riding. "We want to see each person finish the race and we are there to make that happen," Blais says.

Find more information at www.BlaisRacingServices.com.

—Submitted by Guido Ebert