I got the call from Cory Graffunder last night. He’s made it home from the Erzberg Rodeo, a little beat up but with an incredible sixth place finish against the best riders in the World! At the start of this exclusive www.offroadmotorcycles.ca interview Graffunder told me he was proudly wearing our www.offroadmotorcycles.ca t-shirt while he was in Austria, so not only is he Canada’s best rider ever, he’s also the king of moto-fashion. Anyway, here’s how our conversation went.

www.offroadmotorcycles.ca Cory, sixth place in the Erzberg Red Bull Hare Scramble man! Awesome ride!

Cory Graffunder: It was pretty good. You know, last year was fifth place, but for me I consider this year to be a better finish. I’m pretty happy with it! Coming into it I wanted to be top three, but Erzberg is a pretty crazy race and anything can happen. I had my share of misfortunes and I’m more than happy with sixth place.

What made it different than last year?

They had a whole bunch of new stuff. You know, Karl’s Diner and the Roof of Africa, but they had them in a new way this year. For example, Karl’s Diner we usually come into off a road, well sort of a road that you can drive a truck on over nasty rocks. Well this year we came straight down over this ledge over these huge rocks down a whole level, then they had us ribboned off so we had to side hill the whole way across over the rocks. It was ten times more difficult this year than it was in 2009.

And you raced a 300 Husky?

Ya. WR300. It worked really good. CH Husqvarna, the European factory team, did a great job prepping the bike for me. They had a bunch of cool tricks on it, like an aluminum bottle can for the radiator coolant, an adjustable power valve sort of like what KTMs have so I turn it up for the Prologue and the start of the Hare Scramble, where there are a lot of climbs. Then when I got into the forest in the slippery roots and stuff I could turn it down to the torque setting, which worked a lot better. They had two fans mounted on it to help keep it cool.

It sounds like a really neat bike! You’ve been riding a WR300 in the ‘States lately as well right?

Yup, I have one here I’ve been training on. I’ve raced it at a WORCS race and at a Hare ‘N Hound. Since then I’ve been racing a 450F more and just practicing on the 300.

So the 300 must have felt like a mini bike when you got to Austria after racing the 450…

Yeah, they had a lowered shock for me and chopped down the subframe a whole bunch too. So it really felt like a little bike! Perfect!

I guess the CH team knows exactly what you need for Erzberg…

They’ve been there and know what the race entails. I’m a tall guy but still I can use any advantage I can get. That bike was low and easy to move around, which helped.

In the Erzberg Rocket Ride hill climb, from looking at the results, you were doing really well and then kinda’ dropped off the radar. What happened?

They have individual qualifiers, to break down something like a thousand guys to 48 I think. They put you in gates of six, and on the first start I had the right hand gate, which had the best line up the hill. But it was the first time the gate was used, and when it dropped it bounced and I jammed it! I was there ready to go and all of a sudden the gate drops and I pin it and almost go over the bars! I was like, ‘what the hell?’ The bike was jammed in the gate! I had to rip it out. I got going and still got third in that heat, which was good enough for me to transfer to the next heat. Then in the next heat I got the last, worst, gate pick on the left. There was like one line carved up the rock. The guy to the left of me got that line and I had to go straight up the middle over these four-inch rocks. I got fourth, so I was out.

So it’s not like it’s a balls out hill climb, it’s more technical…

Oh ya. It’s big, and we start right at the base of it too. Everyone starts in second gear, but the hill is so steep and loose you can’t shift on it. You just pin it in second all the way up.

But I noticed by the end of the Rocket Ride most of the top guys were on 450Fs. Did you get outgunned on the 300?

Definitely. The big four-strokes just eat the two strokes up on the hill climb.

In the Prologue how does the course work compared to the Hare Scramble?

The Prologue is kinda’ like the access road of the mine. It’s really wide, like 100 feet, and it goes from the bottom of the mine to the top. This year they’ve done a bunch of development on the mine, so they dug a road around to the right of the face. So we went up and then across and then back again…so there was a bunch of new stuff and the course was about two and a half minutes longer than last year. Like 12 minutes or something.

Would a 450F be an advantage there as well?

The more horsepower you’ve got the faster you’ll go in the Prologue because of the acceleration. The switchbacks are so tight you’re down into first gear, then pound from first to fifth and back down over and over again. So you need big power to go fast. There are a couple of straightaways where top speed is a factor too. The first year I was there I was clocked at over 100 Miles an hour on a 450, and the 300 just won’t go that fast. So it’s a disadvantage at that stuff, but as long as you’re in the top 50 so you get a good start on Sunday it doesn’t really matter.

Erzberg is a huge party. Was it the same size this year as previous years? Bigger? Smaller?

About the same. Huge. People everywhere, maybe 30,000 people or something like that. And everyone loves dirt bikes, so they’re cheering their hearts out!

How did the Euros treat you? The last time I talked to you about Erzberg they were still being nice. Is that changing, do they see you as a threat now?

(Laughs) I don’t know. I don’t feel it at all. Everyone seems pretty cool, we can still joke and talk about the course beforehand. Everyone goes out and walks the more difficult sections. It’s cool that we are competing at a level like this but still remain friends.

What’s your next big race?

Red Bull Romanics in a couple weeks. I think I’m riding a 300 again. I’m working out the logistics but I think a 300 will be the best bike. It’s light and has enough power and it’s durable.

Will we see you in Canada at all this year, for Xtinction or anything?

I’m trying to figure out Xtinction. The scheduling is right between two eastern Endurocross rounds. Travel is a nightmare but I am trying to figure out a way to do it.

I hope you can! Everyone will be gunning for you, but then again you have a hell of a lot of fans in Canada.

It’s a neat feeling!

Have the Americans given you any flak about living and racing down there?

There’s always little jokes here and there, and that won’t go away, but I don’t think it’s a big deal for most people. It’s never really been an issue.

Are you still mixing up your training with a bit of motocross or are you focusing solely on Romanics now?

Right now I still have to learn how to use the GPS for Romanics. I’ve used it before but not to the extent I will need it there. After that the Endurocross series starts, so then I’m back onto that.

Are you staying healthy and happy?

Yes. Well, my elbow got opened up at Erzberg. I don’t know how it happened. I didn’t feel it but ended up getting stitches in my elbow. It’s funny, I was working my way through a rock section and I looked down and there was blood all over the bike, on the tank, on the bar pad. I was like, “Eww, whose blood is that?” I didn’t even realize it was mine! I pulled my sleeve up and just saw a scratch and thought, “Well, that can’t be bleeding that much.” But after the race I had my sleeve rolled up and some guy ran over and said, “Don’t bend your elbow!” I guess whenever I bent my arm it opened up and you could see all the muscles and tendons and bones and stuff. But it was on the backside where I couldn’t see, and since I couldn’t feel it I had no idea.

Jeez…

It’s pretty funny!

Doesn’t sound that funny to me! Did they get you patched up ok and is it working all right?

Ya, Erzberg is such a big deal the hospital just opens their doors to everyone. There are lines of people in there with smashed faces and broken arms and legs from the rocks. They just patch ‘em up and send them on their way.

Man, you have a dangerous career! Have you been back to Canada at all to see your family? Your cousins?

Nick and Ryan. I came up over Christmas but haven’t been back since then. My buddy is getting married, so I am going to try and do it after Romanics and come home for a while. It’s good to see Husky making such a push in Canada. The bikes will keep on getting better and better. One day Husky will be just as big as KTM. I can see it happening already.

So are you gonna’ keep us in the loop while you’re at Romaniacs?

For sure, I’ll send you a few text messages while I’m over there so you know what’s going on!