At 6-3 and 190 pounds and able to flick a dirt bike around like it’s a mountain bike it might be hard to label Zip-Ty Husqvarna’s Corey Graffunder as a “Junior.” But the fact remains that the 21-year-old qualifies for the newly-formed E3 Spark Plugs’ EnduroCross Pro Junior Championship and, with his second-straight podium finish coming this past weekend in Florence, S.C., he’s out into the lead for the title of top young contender on the GEICO AMA EnduroCross series.
Graffunder, who hails from British Columbia, is part of a new breed of off-road racers that’s decided to combine, or in some cases (such as his) forgo a professional motocross racing career, in favor of pursuing their passion of pure off-road racing. Top young off-road names such as 19-year-olds Colton Haaker, Patrick Smage and Ronald Commo, 20-year-olds Eric Rodgers and Matt Crouch and 21-year-olds Nick Brozovich, Jamie Lanza and Kyle Redmond have all joined in the pursuit of the E3 Spark Plugs’ EnduroCross Pro Junior Championship – all chasing Graffunder who leads Haaker by nine points, 56-47 after three GEICO EnduroCross rounds.
Catching the eye of Husqvarna’s National Sales and Marketing Director, Scot Harden, Graffunder’s proved to be one of the ’09 GEICO EnduroCross season’s top acquisitions out of all the factory teams as he’s gone 7th/3rd/3rd in three contests where just making the main event has been quite a chore for the world’s top off-road racers.
“Aside from his pure riding skills, one of the qualities that drew us to Corey is his attitude,” explained Harden. “He’s so dedicated and just wants to really make a mark in the sport. He’s as focused as anyone I’ve ever seen and at 21 years of age it’s a trait that is often hard to find. With an experienced team manager like Ty Davis and with our ultra light new TC250 the combination has already proven very effective.”
Coming off a 5th place finish at the legendary Erzberg Enduro race in Austria earlier this summer, Graffunder actually opened the GEICO EnduroCross season riding a KTM. Placing a respectable 7th at the Las Vegas EX opener, Graffunder would soon get the phone call.
“Right after Vegas I got in contact with Husqvarna and Ty Davis and had a opportunity to come down and try the bike and possibly ride for them,” said Graffunder. “I hopped on a plane down to California as soon as I could and INSTANTLY fell in love with the bike, hit it off well with Ty and Scot also and things were looking good. Went to Oklahoma and got on the podium. So things just keep getting better from there.”
One of the questions that ultimately comes up with younger EnduroCross racers is Why didn’t you pursue motocross? In Graffunder’s case, he did. But felt a stronger calling from the sport of off-road. “In 2006 I raced the Canadian MX Nationals, so I got a taste of that,” he explained. “I’ve been racing off-road now for many years before that. I’ve got nothing against motocross, it’s fun. I could probably race motocross for the rest of my life and have some fun doing it. But I just have a passion for off-road racing and that’s where I see myself.”
At his size, again 6-3 and 190 pounds, Graffunder doesn’t fit into the typical 5-7, 145 pound motocrosser percentile. But in off-road events, and particularly GEICO EnduroCross, his size, he feels he’s at more of an advantage than a disadvantage. Add to that fact that Husqvarna put him on a bike that is almost a prototypical GEICO EnduroCross bike, the TC250, and it’s understandable how the combination’s made for two-straight podiums and the overall E3 Spark Plugs’ EnduroCross Pro Junior Championship points lead.
“I’m at a slight weight disadvantage compared to most of the guys, so I was on an open class bike (450) last year,” said Graffunder. “When the opportunity came up to get on Husky’s X-light 250 (TC250) I was all over it because I knew this was a very specific bike for EnduroCross. You need the big power, but something that’s light that will put the power to the ground quickly and efficiently. And Ty’s set the Husqvarna up perfectly for that type of ride. It’s got the four-stroke grunt down low and the trackability that you need in the slippery rocks and on the logs, but it’s also as light as a lot of the two-strokes. So you’ve got the best of both worlds.”
And regarding his unique size, Graffunder adds: “I watch the little guys like Lanza and Palmer and they seem to struggle a lot in the rocky turns and the logs in the corners and such. And I have no issue there. Just throw the leg down and flick the bike around like it’s a mountain bike. So I think my size helps a lot in the areas like that.”
Ultimately, according to Harden, it’s Graffunder’s flat out love for the sport of off-road that will guide him to excellence in the sport. “Corey reminds me a lot of David Knight. He’s a tall rider and his long legs allow him to make recoveries in an instant,” said Harden. “Like Knight, though, Corey doesn’t just rely on his size and strength. He brings a lot of technique and finesse to the table as well. This is why we feel he has such a bright future, He doesn’t just try to overpower the bike. With a little more experience and some additional physical training and conditioning he is going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Check out Graffunder and the Florence highlights on the GEICO Video Player:
www.endurocross.com
