British Columbia’s Cory Graffunder has been taking the world by storm. Ever since the ZipTY Racing/Husqvarna factory rider made the move from the mountains of BC to Southern California he’s been focusing on the most intense racing series in North America: the Geico AMA Endurocross Championship. He’s been charging in the WORCS races as well, adapting quickly to any challenge or type of riding thrown at him. Graffunder called us while he was on his way back to California after finishing sixth last night at the Endurocross finals and taking fourth overall for the series.

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: Hey Cory, congrats on your sixth place last night at Vegas and fourth in the series!

Cory Graffunder: Thanks. I’ve been training hard and feel like I’ve been riding really good lately. But then the Wednesday before I had a really hard get-off in a rock pile. I kinda’ hurt my shoulder, it get yanked out of place a bit…Anyway, I didn’t ride from that Wednesday on to give it a chance to heal. It was definitely sore, but in Endurocross there is so much going on and it is happening so fast you can block pain and stuff out.

What was the atmosphere like in Vegas this year?

It was pretty relaxed this year. I don’t think it sold out. There is usually a lot of hype and people just show up for the last round. Homero Diaz came, but none of the Europeans that aren’t AMA Endurocross series regulars showed up. So it was sort of like any other round.

Did it make you feel more confident not having a bunch of European ringers dropping in?

Nah, it didn’t make any difference to me. What we do is so specific now…if you aren’t racing the whole Geico AMA Endurocross Series you won’t know what to expect. No matter who shows up from around the world the series regulars still have an advantage over them.

Have you been busy celebrating your fourth overall for the series?

Yup! I was pretty happy about that! I was sitting in sixth coming in, behind Sutherlin and Redmond just a couple points ahead of me, so it was pretty much any one of us that could score some points in Vegas. Sutherlin didn’t end up qualifying. He and Taddy and Cody Webb and myself…it was a pretty stacked heat race! I didn’t qualify out of the first round and had to go to the semi, Sutherlin had to go to the LCQ and got beat. So him not making the main event was good for me, points wise. Then in the main I beat Redmond by two spots, so that gave me one point on him…enough to get into the number four spot.

Do you guys get along off the track? Like, how does pro level Endurocross compare to enduro or cross-country racing when it comes to being friendly in the pits?

For me, with a lot of the people it is. Like Gary (Sutherlin) was one of my teammates last year and we are good friends. Remember we’ve been in the same qualifying group all year, so we end up battling with each other all the time. You don’t want to take him out, but at the end of the day it comes down to my life and my championship. Leave the door open and I’m in there. But I’m not going to do any cheap moves and clean him out or hit his leg…some of the other guys I’m not so tight with, well I wouldn’t be so lenient. For the most part all the Pros at the Endurocrosses get along well.

Was Vegas the highlight of your season?

Nope. Probably the first round when I was on the podium. Things kinda’ went downhill from there, but I stayed consistent enough to get myself into the fourth spot.

What else has been going on since I last saw you at Xtinction?

Not a lot, just training for Endurocross. I got second in the Glen Helen WORCS race in the Pro-2 class. That was one of the first races I did last year when I moved down here, and it was hard to get a handle on the WORCS thing compared to the cross-country and enduro stuff I was used to back home. It was a big eye opener. The tracks were really fast and dusty, lots of rocks. Just really, really fast…for me to come in a year later and get second made me pretty happy. The Washington rounds were more my element, you know? But for me to go to a high-speed race like that and do well was just really cool.

Do you still favour the extreme stuff or are you getting into the wide open cross-country scene?

I dunno. I like everything. I haven’t been training a lot for races like Erzberg, but then again you really can’t or you’ll get hurt too much. Mostly I’ve been doing Endurocross training…

Umm…there’s lots of opportunity to get hurt doing that too…

Ya, there is…

How has the ZipTY Husky team been? Are you getting the support you’d hoped for?

Yes, this year we had a really solid team with Bobby Garrison and Nick Burson and Ty. I got to become really good friends with all of them. Bob did most to the Endurocrosses as well, so I got to go on road trips with him quite a bit.

Now that the Endurocross season is over what’s next? Have you got your sponsors sorted out for next year?

No, nothing is signed for next season yet but Husqvarna is looking good. I am open to offers! (laughs) Now is the time to hash all that stuff out.

Would you prefer to be racing Endurocross in the ‘States again next season or maybe go to Europe or even back to Canada?

Ideally right now I would want to race AMA Endurocross and WORCS. Endurocross isn’t big enough to do just that. WORCS changed their format for next year, going to two one-hour motos instead of one two-hour race. That doesn’t really help me out, I was better with the longer races, but I can learn to go faster in a shorter race no problem. I think it’s a good change from a promoter’s perspective, but then I don’t know…it’s supposed to be an off-road series but then you just have a one-hour long race…is it really off-road racing anymore? WORCS was already the most motocross-like off-road series and now it’s become even more so.

I guess the off-road racing formula will keep changing until they figure out what the racers and motorcycle industry and the fans like best…

Exactly. And what they had with WORCS wasn’t really working as well as they wanted it to. It’s just changes; it will be fun no matter what.

Are you hoping to get back to Canada for the holidays?

Yes I will be going back home for a couple weeks, bringing Christy with me to show her the Great White North.

Hopefully next year we’ll see you race again in Canada, maybe Xtinction or one of the CEC rounds?

Xtinction for sure! Montreal Endurocross and hopefully one of the CEC enduros will fit in there.

It would be nice if Montreal didn’t conflict with an AMA Endurocross race…

Yeah, I keep hearing how awesome it is. I also hear there is going to be an X-Games Endurocross race as well, so I will be practicing all winter.

Are there a lot of guys in Southern California doing the Endurocross stuff, or are you guys kind of a freak show?

Pretty much the guys you see at the races are the serious ones. Other guys try, but if they don’t do it all the time and train all season at it they will never get good enough to even qualify for an AMA Endurocross national.

From an outsider looking in it is cool to watch the sport evolve like this and actually become marketable.

Ya I was talking with Eric Peronnard last night and he was saying there were going to be rounds in Southern California and Washington next year, so it seems the Endurocross series is really taking off.

Anything else big coming up on your schedule?

In a couple weeks I will be doing the Tecate Enduro in Baja, Mexico. They’ve always run it as a hare scramble but this year they are running it as an enduro. Husqvarna is sending down a four-man team…apparently it is very tight and gnarly, so it might be a good place for me to do well.

Well good luck, let us know how it goes! And let us know what you end up with for sponsorship for next season!
For sure! It’s great to see off-road finally getting the recognition it deserves! Me and Justin Soule were talking about that the other day; how cool it would be to have a big crossover race, where you had to do motocross and cross-country and desert and Endurocross…who would be the best overall dirt bike rider? I think the off-road guys would win!

Photo courtesy of Megan Blackburn and Cory Graffunder