Husqvarna Nails More Podiums at Final Rounds of
Canadian Enduro Championship
September 23, 2010 – Saint John, NB– FP Husqvarna / Zip-Ty Racing Canada’s Guy Giroux and Nick Graffunder charged their way through the final rounds of the Canadian Enduro Championship to secure another string of podiums for the new Husqvarna Canada team.
Giroux rallied his way to 2nd place finishes in the E3 class at both rounds while Graffunder would post his best rides of the season and snag his first Pro Podium in E1.
Eager for battle in his home province of Quebec, Husqvarna’s Guy Giroux had his fire fueled even more than usual as the result of his Overall Win at Round 5, along with back to back wins in the E3 class.
The beautiful surroundings of the Labelle region served up one of the toughest challenges of the series as the heavy rains preceding the event turned the transfer sections between special tests into a quagmire of mud, rocks and ruts. Giroux hammered his WR 300 to 2nd place finishes in E3 on both days but could not close the gap on British Columbia’s consistently fast, Geoff Nelson.
Offroadmotorcycles.ca Photo
GUY GIROUX
“I was really hoping for the win in my backyard and in front of my fans” said Giroux. “The kids were screaming for me all weekend which was awesome. I had a good day on Saturday and really didn’t make any mistakes but Geoff (Nelson) had a great ride and denied me the top step.
On day two I made a few small mistakes but nothing too serious. I wanted to win the final MX test bad and got a good start behind Wojo (Brian Wojnarowski). I studied his lines and tried to figure out where to get by him. Schrage (Jason) was pushing hard to get by me but I was able to hold him off. Just after that I realized that something was really wrong. I had overcooked my brake so bad that the rear wheel was locking up. I spent the rest of the race abusing my clutch to death to make sure I didn’t stall and concentrated on making it to the finish line. I lost a couple of positions and ended up 4th which might as well been last to me because I wanted to win so badly.”
Giroux finished the series in 5th Overall amongst the three Pro Classes (E1, E2 & E3).
In the E1 Class, Husqvarna Canada’s Nick Graffunder was on the gas and hammered his way through the slippery conditions to post his best rides of the year and to grab his first Pro Class Podium at Round 7 of the CEC series. Some tough-love motocross training from team-mate and mentor, Guy Giroux, for Nick and his brother Ryan earlier in the week at Montreal’s XTown riding facility obviously paid big dividends.
Graffunder bounced his TC 250 off the rev limiter all day en-route to snagging the final podium spot in E1. Coach Giroux had a big smile on his face and a firm hand shake for the young Graffunder as the results showed that not only were Nick’s Cross tests very strong but that he had actually won the second Cross test in E1. Graffunder charged hard again the following day at Round 8 and posted no less than 4 top 3 test times but was denied a second podium when a major mistake in one of the final tests cost Nick well over a minute.
Offroadmotorcycles.ca Photo
NICK GRAFFUNDER
“I was pretty excited to finally get on the podium” says Graffunder. “It has been a tough year for me and it is a huge confidence booster to prove that I can run with the top three in my class. Training with Giroux on Wednesday at the motocross track was definitely a big help.
I was on a mission to get back on the box on Sunday and I think I was in good shape until the last lap. I made a mistake that cost me a painful amount of time and that pretty much ruined any chance of getting another Top 3. It was hard to take but it was still a great way to finish the series and it definitely gives me extra motivation to focus on getting ready for next year.”
Nick finished out the 2010 Canadian Enduro Championship in 4th position in the E1 Class.
In the E2 Class, FP Husqvarna’s Ryan Graffunder had another tough weekend trying to adapt his Western riding style to the foreign conditions dished out in the form of rocks and mud by the Labelle race course. Although Graffunder was able to achieve top 10 results in E2 on both days on his TXC 450, it was a tough pill to swallow for the young Pro who sat 2nd in E2 and 3rd Overall coming into the Eastern rounds.
All was not lost though as Ryan was able to climb the podium at the awards banquet and accept the 2010 Top Pro Junior Award (riders under 20 years old) for the second year in a row. Graffunder finished the season in 4th position in E2 and 6th Overall Pro for the series.
Offroadmotorcycles.ca Photo
RYAN GRAFFUNDER
“It was a really frustrating weekend for me” said Graffunder. “The conditions were tough and the transfer sections were pretty nasty but I certainly expected better results. My Extreme tests were okay and I had at least one top 3 time in E2 but I lost a lot a ton of time in the Enduro tests that cost me any chance at a podium. I wanted more but I am really happy to have improved on last year’s results and it was awesome to win the Top Pro Junior Award again since it is my last year to qualify for it.”
Husqvarna’s Karine Geoffrion was the sole entrant in the Women’s Class for the final rounds of the series on her WR 144. After completing the first two tests of Day 1 and facing the nasty transfer sections before the Enduro test, Karine opted to call it a day and focus on cheering for her partner Guy Giroux and the rest of the FP Husqvarna squad. Karine has tallied an impressive 4 Wins in Quebec’s hotly contested FMSQ series and now leads the Ladies Championship with two rounds remaining.
Offroadmotorcycles.ca Photo
KARINE GEOFFRION
Offroadmotorcycles.ca Photo
RYAN GRAFFUNDER
In addition to over a dozen podiums in Regional races across the country, the new Husqvarna Canada team has finished its debut season in the Canadian Enduro Championship with 10 Pro Class Podiums, two Top 10 Overalls in the series and the Top Pro Junior Award.
This success has allowed the FP Husky crew to put the entire line-up of Husqvarna off-road race bikes available to the Canadian market on the podium in stock trim with the exception of bolt-on accessories. These models include the 125, 144, 250 and 300 two strokes as well as the 250, 450 and 510 four strokes.
Offroadmotorcycles.ca Photo
Offroadmotorcycles.ca Photo
GUY GIROUX
The 2010 Canadian Enduro Championship has been a huge success for the Husqvarna Canada team and we are already preparing for 2011. Our next adventure – the Montreal Endurocross on October 2nd.
Video
We are very grateful to our many amazing sponsors. Without them, our team would not exist.
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 to help ensure our race program is a success; Bow Ridge Sports in Cochrane, Echo Cycle in Edmonton and RiverCity Cycle in Kamloops.
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.
|
