National Pride2010

Suzanne Howie

Well, another one is in the books; the 2010 edition of World Enduro Canada/Royal Distributing’s Canadian Enduro Championship, presented by Parts Canada is over. Boy was it an amazing ride! Bigger and better than last year, once again, I was lucky enough to be along for the ride again. It started at Machine Racing, in Sharon, Ontario, where the Captain, aka Yamaha/Machine Racing’s Brian “Wojo” Wojnarowski, and I set out on our 50 hour journey from Ontario to Blairmore, Alberta. Between Blairmore and Pentic-ton, BC, I accompanied another group of Ontarians, Lockhart’s Suzuki rider Chris Van Hove and Machine Honda rider Bryan “Swampy” Marshall. Parry Sound is the “local” round, a mere two and a half hours from home, it was an easy solo ride up Thursday evening. For Labelle, Quebec, I was re-united with travel buddy Swampy. We must be cursed. Last year, while travel-ling to Labelle, we got lost and almost ended up on the Oka Ferry (except it was midnight, and the ferry was closed). This time, on the way home, we were stuck in an extra three hours worth of traffic! These photos were gained from the eight rounds of the series, and there are pictures that span the Pro and Amateur classes. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do.

Blairmore

Lovely Ladies: Left to Right: Victoria Hett, Jillian Bolso, Karla Brandt, Almeda Rive and Suzanne Pelletier, with seven month old baby Jacob.

Roun

ds 1

& 2

Marty -The Party- Halmazna: Marty “the Party” Halmazna rode the big Husqvarna E3 bike in Alber-ta and BC. And whether he was busting a move in the pits (left) or busting out some smooth moves on the track (right) he rocked the TLD gear, unique to the Husqvarna Team.

Adam “-Cheeseburger- M

illson:

The 2009 CEC

Eastern Am

ateur A C

lass Cham

pion, Millson m

oved up to the big time, joining Ya-

maha/M

achine Racing’s B

rian Wojnarow

ski in the big rig. Blue 22 had a pretty good rookie season, fin-

ishing 11th overall.

SeeingRyan -Thunder- Graffunder The name “Graffunder” has been getting a lot of press lately, and while cousin Cory might be partially to credit, brothers Ryan and Nick are doing their bit on the home front. While Cory is out ex-ploring the Carpathian Moun-tains and battling in the bar to bar action of the AMA En-durocross series, these two brothers have been ripping it up at home.

DoubleNick Graffunder -the Lumberjack Older brother Nick puts the power to the ground in the E1 class, while Ryan represents the family name in the E2 class, tak-ing home the Inside Motorcycles Top Junior award in 2009. Com-ing into 2010 he had his eyes set on the prize for the second year in a row. After a phenominal run in Alberta, he was well posi-tioned to claim that prize.

Shane Watts - the Man from Oz: Last year, fast Aussie Jake Stapleton tore up the E2 class aboard a Ya-maha/Machine Racing ride, this year Shane Watts ripped it up in Alberta aboard his kangaroo KTM.

Factory Phil - Philippe Chaine Philippe Chaine came all the way from Quebec to compete in the E1 class, with his eyes set on the Championship. He wasn’t alone. Chris Van Hove, Ryan Durkee, Jared Thomas and Nick Graffunder were also chasing that dream.

Eric Demoulin

Chris Van Hove

Adam Millson

Jack Sawatzky

Ryan Graffunder

Brian Wojnarowski

Legends in the Making... Ryan Durkee (left) and Ryan Graffunder (right) both came into the series with the intention of putting their names on the podium, as well as earning the title of Top Pro Junior, and the $500 prize put up by Inside Motorcycle magazine.

Jack Sawatzky - Little Bike; Big Fight

A

lberta is known for being hom

e to big bikes. The E3 riders are the big boys on campus, w

ith the E1 class populated m

ostly by eastern riders who m

ade the trek. Jack Sawatzky is one of few

E1 riders to ride out of the Prairie R

ose province.

Geof

f Nel

son

- Kin

g of

E3

G

eoff

Nel

son,

form

er IS

DE

com

petit

or, i

s no

str

ange

r to

the

big

bike

s. In

200

9 th

e Br

itish

Col

umbi

a na

tive

race

d E3

and

cam

e se

cond

to th

en te

amm

ate

Jaso

n Sc

hrag

e. In

20

10, S

chra

ge s

igne

d w

ith H

onda

and

mov

ed to

the

E2 c

lass

. Nel

son

swep

t the

wes

t-er

n E3

pod

ium

s, bu

t was

una

ble

to p

ush

Schr

age

off th

e to

p sp

ot a

t hom

e.

Mark Cahill - Vet Pro Cham

p

Mark Cahill w

as the only defending Pro Class champion racing in the w

estern rounds. Jason Schrage, w

ho won E3 in 2009, had m

oved to E2, Patrick Beaule, the E1 cham

pion, could not make the trip out, and Bobby Prochnau, reigning #1 plate holder

and E2 champion w

as out with an injury. Cahill, a form

er trials champion, rode to his

first truly national championship last year. H

e was also know

n for saying “We’re Pros

too!” when the often over looked Vet Pro class w

as just that, over looked.

Ben Rego

Cody Bykerk

Bryan Marshall

Jason Schrage

Shane Watts

Kevin Pelletier

Stephen Foord

Adam Millson

Brian Wojnarowski

Nick Graffunder

Ryan Graffunder

Mark Cahill

Guy

-G-R

ox- G

irou

x

The

firy

Fren

chm

an fr

om Q

uebe

c di

dn’t

have

the

best

of fi

nish

es in

the

wes

t. H

is sh

ort l

egs d

idn’

t see

m to

be

cond

usiv

e to

the

rock

y te

rrai

n of

the

rugg

esd

Roc

ky M

ount

ains

. Tha

t sai

d, h

e st

ill h

ad fu

n.

Top Finishers Rnd #11 - Jason Schrage, HON

2 - Ryan Graffunder, HSQ3 - Ryan Durkee, KTM4 - Shane Watts, KTM5 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

Top Finishers Rnd #21 - Jason Schrage, HON2 - Shane Watts, KTM

3 - Ryan Graffunder, HSQ4 - Geoff Nelson, KTM5 - Ryan Durkee, KTM

Penticton

Roun

ds 3

&4

Whip It Out! The whip is the oldest trick in the book, and here we see three differ-ent variations on it from an enduro rider’s perspective.

Chris Van Hove

For 2010 Van Hove traded in his 450f for a 250 and took on the E1 class

aboard his Lockhart’s Suzuki.. The young rider from D

elhi, Ontario, enjoyed m

uch m

ore success in the E1 class than he did the previous year, earning himself a spot

on the podium in six of the eight rounds.

A Tale of Ask riders what they think of when they hear the word “Penticton,” and you’ll get one of two an-swers: Moto Test or Ex-treme Test.The moto test was mostly unchanged from the pre-vious year. There were a few rerouted parts, but the ski jumps and double were the same. “I don’t know, people say these Hondas like to fly, I’m inclined to disagree,” said series leader Jason Schrage. Apparently Yamahas have no issue jumping; Ya-maha/Machine Racing’s Adam Millson even did a heel clicker off the ski jump!

Two TestsFor 2010 the crew changed the location of the Extreme Test, putting it in the old dumping grounds. Rid-ers came down through the trees, over the infamous teeter totters and jersey bar-riers, through some more trees, over the concrete cul-verts that were such a hit last year, through a debris pile, into a mud filled tire pit, into a water section, before finally reaching the rock “garden.” After the rocks it was a quick shot to the finish of the test through some tight trees and sticky mud.

Tire Trouble Enduro riders are up for any challenge you put in front of them. A tire pit? No problem. Mud hole? Sure! Child’s play. Put them together? To make things interest-ing, and to keep their reputa-tion as having the toughest Ex-treme Test in the series, the men behind the Penticton round dreamt up a special kind of hor-ror for the riders. The mud filled tire pit was only one part of a very tough test.

Bria

n “-W

ojo-

” Woj

naro

wsk

i:

Als

o kn

own

as: C

apta

in S

tres

s, th

e Ca

ptai

n, W

rinks

, Got

taM

inut

e?

and

any

othe

r num

ber o

f alia

ses.

Woj

o is

the

fron

t man

for T

eam

Ya-

mah

a/M

achi

ne R

acin

g O

ff Ro

ad. A

n ex

perie

nced

ride

r, W

ojo

has

race

d m

oto,

end

uro,

har

e sc

ram

bles

, th

e IS

DE,

end

uro

cros

s, tr

ials

and

Xtin

c-

Brent Kroeker

Shane Cuthbertson

Eric Demoulin

ClintRiviere

RyanGraffunder

MarkCahill

MartyHalmazna

Bryan Marshall

Ryan

- W

onde

r Bo

y- D

urke

e

In 2

009

Ryan

Dur

kee

took

the

E2 c

lass

by

stor

m a

boar

d hi

s Su

zuki

RM

250.

For

201

0, th

e fa

st 1

7 ye

ar o

ld ri

der m

ount

ed a

n RT

R KT

M a

nd

char

ged

the

E1 c

lass

. Men

tor a

nd g

ood

frie

nd B

obby

t Pro

chna

u, e

xpec

t-ed

big

thin

gs fr

om h

te y

oung

BC

nativ

e, a

nd h

e di

dn`t

dis

appo

int.

Dur

-ke

e co

mpe

ted

in a

ll fo

ur w

este

rn ro

unds

, sw

eepi

ng th

e E1

pod

ium

, and

w

as th

e on

ly E

1 rid

er to

bre

ak in

to th

e to

p te

n ov

eral

l in

the

mou

ntai

ns.

Shan

e -M

oose

- Cut

hber

tson

O

ne o

f the

orig

inal

off

road

ride

rs w

ho p

ut C

anad

a on

the

map

, Sha

ne

Cut

hber

tson

has

had

a lo

ng a

nd d

istin

guis

hed

care

er, h

avin

g ra

ced

Ro-

man

iacs

, Erz

berg

, the

ISD

E on

seve

ral o

ccas

sion

s, R

ed B

ull’s

Las

t Man

St

andi

ng a

nd, o

f cou

rse,

the

pres

tigio

us C

anad

ian

hare

scra

mbl

e, C

orne

r G

rass

and

the

first

runn

ing

of th

e C

anad

ian

Extre

me

Endu

ro, X

tinct

ion.

Top Finishers Rnd #31 - Jason Schrage, HON2 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

3 - Shane Cuthbertson, HBG4 - Ryan Durkee, KTM

5 - Ryan Graffunder, HSQ

Top Finishers Rnd #41 - Jason Schrage, HON

2 - Shane Cuthbertson, HBG3 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

4 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM5 - Julian Cerny, KTM

From Left to Right: Jared Thomas, Paul Andratis, Bruce Moffatt, Chris Don-ald, Rob Hewitt, Ben Rego, Paul Lachance, Dave Nelson, Kevin Cockayne, Geoff Nelson, Clark Peters, Jean Pellerin, Phillipe Chaine, Adam Millson, Chris Van Hove, Alexander Lagault, Ryan Gauld, Jason Schrage, Bryan Marshall, Guy Giroux, Clint Riviere, Ryan Graffunder, Nick Graffunder, Paul Petrin, Shane Cuthbertson, Lee Fryberger, Brian Wojnarowski and Julian Cerny.

Parry Sound

Roun

ds 5

& 6

Trevor Wideman:the Voice

Sean Wiesner:the Face

Stephen Able:the Brains

Lawrence Hacking:

The Name

World Enduro Canada: Behind the Scenes There is a lot of work involved in putting on a national enduro series. Not only do the clubs and organizers on a local level put in countless hours on their individual rounds, there is also an incredible amount of work at a national level required to put together the event. The WEC crew, Lawrence Hacking, Stephen Able, Sean Wiesner and Trevor Wideman, work tirelessly with national sponsors, working on logistics and timing equipment.

Fighting Fire with Fire Jason Schrage is a man of two personalities. By day he’s the hero of many, a fire fighter for the city of Lethbridge, in Alberta. On the weekends he’s Honda’s top ranked off road rider, looking to trade that #8 in for a #1.

Take

Julian Cerny comes off the log jump a little low in the nose. As always, though, Cerny scores points for style. Elbows out, head up, looking where he wants to go.

Two

Ben Rego lands heavy on his front wheel too, but Rego is able to power his way out of a crash.

Swelling in the Ranks Team Yamaha/Machine Racing might have lost Vet Pro rider Craig Kennedy for the eastern rounds, but it gained an E1 rider (for Parry Sound), an A rider and a B rider. Left to Right: Brain Wojnarowski (E2), Adam Millson (E2), Ryan Gauld (E1), Mark Koens (B) and Patrick Gesualdi (A).

Mechanical Wings The Honda motorcycle’s logo might be a wing, but Jason Schrage stood by the fact that his red rocket did not like to fly. “People say these Hondas, they like to fly,” the points leader said after the Western rounds. “But not mine!” In Parry Sound, it looks like his little red tractor found its wings and finally took flight, easily clearing the log double in the Extreme Test, to the shock and awe of the audience, including Schrage’s wife, Rochelle. “I can’t believe he did it!” We all knew you could, Jason!

Hail to the King! Clint Riviere was dubbed “King of the Rednecks” in BC, when he led the “Redneck Minute.” In Alberta the term “redneck” is used as a compli-ment. A redneck is a hard working man/woman, who works hard for their money, plays harder and would give you their very last dollar if you needed it. Clint certainly embodies these traits. The King finished first on Saturday and second on Sunday in Parry Sound.

Fueling Dreams: Feeding Performance Marc Coffin and his FP Husqvarna team, comprised of Ryan and Nick Graffunder, Guy Giroux and Marty Halmazna upped the ante at the nation-als this year. FP/Husqvarna, along with the Yamaha/Machine operation, had a professional set up and a large presence at all four venues. Coffin hopes to set an example for the rest of the manufacturers.

Kevin Cockayne

Last year there were three #7 bikes racing at Parry Sound, and they w

ere all KTMs. Bobby

Prochnau, Scott Bowes and Kevin Cockayne all w

ore the white #7 on their red plates. This year, Coc-

kayne was the only one w

ho of the three who m

ade it back to Parry Sound, and he was no longer

wearing the #7. Instead he w

ore the #11.

Lee

Fryb

erge

r

Lee

Fryb

erge

r is a

mem

ber o

f the

Cor

ner G

rass

Rac

e Te

am, m

ultip

le IS

DE

com

petit

or, a

nd fo

r the

la

st fe

w y

ears

has

bee

n te

am m

anag

er fo

r the

Can

adia

n Tr

ophy

team

. To

say

he’s

an

expe

rinec

ed ri

der

is a

bit

of a

n un

ders

tate

men

t. Fr

y no

rmal

ly fi

nds h

imse

lf on

the

oppo

site

side

of r

acin

g, o

rgan

zing

the

fam

ous C

orne

r Gra

ss ra

ce in

Com

peer

, Alb

erta

, as w

ell a

s the

201

0 B

lairm

ore

CEC

roun

d an

d th

e ve

ry

first

Can

adia

n ex

trem

e ha

rd e

ndur

o, X

tinct

ion,

nea

r Pat

ricia

, Alb

erta

.

History in the Making? Jason Schrage (left) and John Nelson (right) shake hands. Nelson helped set up support for the Honda rider when he came east, including bringing a spare bike for the racer should he need parts. Nelson is known for offering tremendous support for the off road riding community. His gen-erosity didn’t stop at Schrage, he also brought an extra YZ450f for BC brute Ben Rego. Will Schrage be running Machine Racing and LGS stickers for 2011? Only time will tell.

Moto Media Madness! For Parry Sound the editors of Canada’s two motocross publications, Jeff Morgan of Inside Mo-toX and Off Road magazing, and Ryan Gauld of MXP magazine, put their money where their mouths are and saddled up. Morgan (left) competed in the B class, finishing 8th on day one and 6th on day two. Gauld (bottom right) competed in the E1 class, part of the expand-ed Yamaha/Machine team, but was unable to finish due to mechanical problems (top right). Gauld smashed the chain guide clean off the swing arm and sent it into the case during lap one, day one, and was out for the count.

The Best Laid Plans

Jason Schrage hoped to repeat Bobby Prochnau’s perfect season, but Guy G

iroux put an end to that pursuit in Parry Sound. A

fter a less than stellar performance out w

est, Giroux cam

e home, trained

hard and upped his game, jum

ping on hte Husqvarna 300 for the final four rounds. It appeared to be

the ticket, as G-Rox rocked the Pro class day one in Parry Sound, taking hom

e the top spot in E3 and finishing first over all, effectively ending Schrage’s run at a perfect season.

Julia

n Ce

rny

Th

e O

rigin

al H

urtin

’ Alb

erta

n, Ju

lian

Cer

ny is

a o

ne o

f the

few

who

can

mak

e th

e tra

nsiti

on fr

om

off r

oad

to m

oto

and

back

. Cer

ny c

ompe

ted

in th

e W

ild R

ose

MX

roun

d of

the

CM

RC

nat

iona

ls a

nd fi

n-is

hed

12th

ove

rall

in M

X1;

he

finis

hed

5th

in E

2, a

nd 8

th o

vera

ll, in

the

CEC

s.

Top Finishers Rnd #51 - Guy Giroux, HSQ

2 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM3 - Jason Schrage, HON4 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

5 - Chris Van Hove, SUZ

Top Finishers Rnd #61 - Jason Schrage, HON2 - Guy Giroux, HSQ3 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

4 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM5 - Shane Cuthbertson, HBG

Labelle

Roun

ds 7

& 8

L’Extreme There might not have been tires, or water pits, but there were rocks and bottomless beach sand, the likes of which is normally only seen at the CMRC’s infamous Gopher Dunes moto track in Courtland, Ontario. The LaBelle Extreme Test was much the same as the previous year, with the addition of a longer woods track cut into the start and some extra logs thrown into at the end. Riders agreed: it was one of the best tests of the year.

It’s not about how many times you fall...It’s about how fast you get up!

Double Take! Yamaha/Machine Racing riders Brian Wojnarowski (above) and Adam Millson (below) share a lot of similarities on the outside, but that’s where the likeness ends. Yes, both ride YZ 250s, Wojo’s number is 2, and Millson’s is 22. They both wear the same Fox helmet and have the same sets of Shift gear, but while Wojo is a more fines rider, Millson’s style is more laid back and laid out.

Ben

Rego

:Th

e To

ughe

st M

an y

ou H

AVE

Hear

d Of

A

t the

beg

inni

ng o

f the

ser

ies,

Ben

Rego

was

dee

med

the

“tou

ghes

t man

you

’ve

neve

r hea

rd o

f”

by s

ever

al m

edia

out

lets

, but

now

, tha

t titl

e se

ems

to n

eed

som

e ed

iting

. Reg

o ha

s m

ade

a na

me

for

him

self.

Fro

m K

itam

at, B

ritis

h Co

lum

bia,

the

toug

h rid

er d

rove

56

hour

s to

race

the

east

ern

roun

ds.

Rego

fini

shed

6th

in E

2, 7

th o

vera

ll.

Top Finishers Rnd #71 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

2 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM3 - Jason Schrage, HON

4 - Guy Giroux, HSQ5 - Ben Rego, YAM

Top Finishers Rnd #81 - Jason Schrage, HON2 - Geoff Nelson, KTM

3 - Brian Wojnarowski, YAM4 - Guy Giroux, HSQ

5 - Shane Cuthbertson, HBG

Tying up Loose Ends At the end of the year I’m always left with dozens of pictures that aren’t action shots, and don’t really fit anywhere else, but for whatever rea-son I still really like them. Sometimes they’re funny, sometimes they’re se-rious, but usually there is just something about the shot that makes me love it. So, without further ado, I give you the loose ends!

1st Place:Jason Schrage

2nd Place:Geoff Nelson

Vital Stats:Name: Geoff NelsonDate of Birth: June 25, 1984Height: 6’2”Hometown: Abbortsford, British ColumbiaBike/Brand/year: 2011 KTM XC 300 Sponsors: KTM Canada, Royal Distrubuting, Thor, Alpinestar, Maxima Oils, Mitas Tires, Holeshot Motorsports, Scorpion Racing, CTS Suspension, RTC CompositeRacing since: 1997Pro Since: 2005Favourite CEC stop: All of them have been fun, however I am partial to my home stomping grounds in BCFavourite Test: This would have to be a tie between the MX test in Que-bec, and the Enduro test in BC.Most memorable racing event: This would be the 2007 ISDE in LaSerena Chile as I was the Top Canadian. This meant that my name would be add-ed to the Jim Kelly Perpetual Memorial Trophie, along with all of the past Canadians that have won the Top Canadian Award at the ISDE. I also re-ceived the Bert Irwin Memorial Cup for being the Fastest Canadian. This was a true honour.

3rd Place:Brian Wojnarowski

Vital Stats:Name: Brian WojnarowskiDate of Birth: April 5, 1979Height: 6’2”Bike/Brand/year: Yamaha YZ 250Sponsors: Yamaha Canada, Machine Racing, LGS Suspension Develop-ment, Podium Grafix, Orthoflex, Electrosport, PerformX Motocross Train-ing, Bondi Engines, Trail Tours and Rekluse.Racing since: 1995Pro Since: 2006Favorite CEC stop: LabelleFavorite Test: Parry Sound MX testMost memorable racing event: ISDE 2008 in Greece. There was a great deal of logistics and expense involved with this race. I met some really nice people. Rode with some really fast guys. It was the first time I had ever ridden in the mountains which was a great experience. I also got smoked which is hard to forget.

E3:1st: Nelson

2nd: Giroux

3rd: Kroeker

E2:1st: Schrage

2nd: Wojnarowski

3rd: Cuthbertson

E1:1st: Thomas

2nd: Van Hove

3rd: Chaine

5th Gear MediaSuzanne Howie

2010