Graffunder Earns First Pro Class Win - Giroux & Geoffrion Climb The Podium

June 16, 2010 – Saint John, NB – FP Husqvarna / Zip-Ty Racing Canada’s Ryan Graffunder hammered his way to the first Pro Class win of his promising career this past weekend in British Columbia. Husqvarna also kept its podium streak alive in Quebec where Guy Giroux nailed another 2nd place finish in the Pro class and Karine Geoffrion jumped on the podium for the second race in a row with her 2nd overall in the ladies class.

RYAN GRAFFUNDER

After an impressive 2009 season that saw Ryan post solid results in the Canadian Enduro Championship, including earning a top 5 overall in the E2 class and the Top Pro Junior Award for riders under 20 years old, Graffunder was finally able his to grab the first Pro Class win of his career on his new Husqvarna TXC 450 at the Full Throttle Hare Scramble in Vernon, British Columbia.

Graffunder enjoyed another good start and ran in the top three for the opening laps. By the lap third lap, Ryan had worked his way into the lead and focused on trying to build a gap on the hungry pack that was hunting him which included 2009 CEC Champion, Bobby Prochnau.

Graffunder was able to build and maintain his lead and would remain out front until the checkers.

“My start was good. Bobby took off out front and there was some good racing in the first few laps with Ryan Durkee and Dillon Bucknell. At end of the third lap I was able to get past Bobby when he ran out of fuel right before the gas check. Dylan got by me and then stopped for gas too. I kept going and pitted the next lap for fuel instead. Once I got out front I just tried to stay focused and run my own race. I was able to build a little bit of a cushion on the guys and stayed in first until the end. Bobby’s still coming back from his hand injury but I felt really solid and I was definitely pretty excited to get my first ever win in the Pro Class.”

NICK GRAFFUNDER

Ryan’s brother, and Husqvarna Canada team-mate, Nick Graffunder had a tough race in Vernon. Nick struggled with bike issues in the opening lap that would see him forced to call it a day before the finish of the race. It was a frustrating ending for the Husqvarna young gun as he was keen to try and build on the solid top 5 finish that he scored at the previous round.

In Alberta, Husqvarna Canada’s Marty Halmazna hammered his way to the finish line at the 2010 running of the Porcupine Hills Hare Scramble. Halmazna recovered from a couple of major hits that punched most of the life out of him and was able to finish out the race on his TXC 510.

“I had a silly crash in warm-up before the race. I busted a hand guard off and beat myself pretty good. I shook it off and went to the line but then proceeded to get a horrible start. I was at the back of the pack but I got settled in and started picking riders off.”

MARTY HALMAZNA

“I felt strong and was having fun passing guys. I was able to rip past a bunch of them and I got up to about fifth or sixth. I was putting in some decent laps and then I slammed a big root on an uphill section. I didn’t even really crash but I pounded myself into the tank and bars hard enough that I think my ancestors felt it. It took me a while to get my act together. My race was pretty much cooked at that point. I was at the back of the pack again and definitely feeling the hits so I just backed it down a little and focused on finishing the race and getting more time on the bike before the CECs start.”

In Quebec, the 3rd round of the FMSQ series saw Husqvarna Canada’s Guy Giroux rail his way through the boulders of the Ferme Neuve course to secure another 2nd place finish behind the United Kingdom’s Jason Thomas. Giroux got a mid-pack start and then suffered a nasty crash during the first part of the race after having fought his way up to second position. Guy was able to get back in the game and pushed his way through the last laps to secure his spot on the podium.

“I got surprised by the referee’s quick drop of the flag and I was mid-pack off the start, which sucked big time since the first section was on the dusty MX track. It took me a lap to get in second place, and believe me it wasn't always pretty! At the scan, Jason had a 40 second lead which wasn't that bad considering the work I had done to get into second. On the second lap, I lost it and threw a yard sale in the slippery stuff. Everything was okay except for a little bit of pain in my right thumb. I went back at it but Phillipe (Chainé) had caught me, so I put it in over-drive and ran away.”

Giroux indicated that the sweltering heat was a big issue and that it took a big toll on him both during and after the race. Chainé chased Giroux hard but Guy found some relief when Chainé crashed towards the end of the race and provided him some extra breathing room has he charged to the finish and locked down 2nd overall.

GUY GIROUX

Giroux’s partner in his quest in life to conquer all things off-road, Karine Geoffrion, was able bring home her second podium in a row by piloting her Husqvarna WR 125 to a solid 2nd place overall.

Karine got off to a healthy 3rd place start and was able to secure the lead almost immediately. Geoffrion bounced through the rocks of the Ferme Neuve course and appeared to be settled comfortably into the lead in the opening laps.

On lap three, Karine arrived at the pits with a bent hand guard that was messing up her use of the clutch. After a quick fix, she resumed the race in 4th position and put her head down. On lap four, Geoffrion returned to the pits back in 2nd place again but was now suffering from a front brake problem as the result of another bent guard. It seems that Karine had suffered a couple of small crashes in the rocks and it both cases the hand guards had come out victims.

In addition to a couple of nasty bruises to add to her trophy collection, Geoffrion was able to press on through to the finish and was rewarded with 2nd overall for the day and the chance to climb the podium for the second race in a row.

KARINE GEOFFRION

Team Sponsors

Husqvarna Canada, Feeding Performance Inc., Motovan, Rekluse, Ogio, Dragon, Xtreme, TCX, Axis, Zox, Pro-Tech, Etnies, Throttle Entertainment, UNI Filter, DID, LeoVince, GPR Stabilizer, Motul, LimeNine, EC3D, Impact Canopies, GoPro, Enduro Engineering, Supersprox, SkyCap, Boyesen, E-line, IMS, Matrix Concepts, TM Designworks, Dunlop and Zip Ty Racing.

Special thanks to the Husqvarna Canada dealers that provide extra assistance help ensure our race program is a success; Bow Ridge Sports in Cochrane, Echo Cycle in Edmonton and RiverCity Cycle in Kamloops.

RYAN GRAFFUNDER

GUY GIROUX (R)

KARINE GEOFFRION (R)

About Husqvarna Motorcycles

Tradition on two wheels since 1903.

Husqvarna Motorcycles, a part of the BMW Group since October 2007, are widely known and respected in the off-road world for a heritage of competition and have accumulated over 70 World Championships in Motocross, Enduro and Supermotard.

Originally founded in Sweden in 1903, Husqvarna motorcycles have been designed and manufactured in Varese, Italy since 1987.

For more information on Husqvarna Motorcycles, visit www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com