Cory Graffunder (118) was the big winner at the Funky Chicken West National Hare Scrambles. Photography by Mark Kariya
After his runner-up finish at round five, SRT KTM’s Cory Graffunder knew he’d succeeded in limiting damage to his championship hopes in the Kenda/SRT AMA West Hare Scrambles Championship Series.
So with the Emerald Trail Riders Association’s 16th MotoSport Funky Chicken Hare Scrambles serving as round six and the final “woods” race, he knew it would be his last chance to capitalize on his strength as a technical rider and pad his series points lead over Purvines Racing Beta’s Nick Burson.
Graffunder explained, “I knew I had to make as much of it as I could [here]. The last two are going to fall into Burson’s favor, for sure.”
So, after about a fourth-place start aboard his 509/TBT Racing/O’Neal Racing-backed 300 XC, he made a few quick moves to get into the lead, one he never relinquished.
“I knew that I was going to be fast here,” Graffunder said. “There’s probably a few other guys that could run a similar pace to me, but with the dust, it’s like, ‘Good luck trying to get through that behind me!’ ”
Conversely, Burson was the one hoping for a damage-control day, confessing, “Me and trees don’t get along.”
Indeed, after finishing eighth in the Pro division, his Motul/Precision Concepts/Klim 430 RR looked like it had seen better days, its front fender missing. More important to Burson was the number of points he lost, unofficially dropping to third now behind Graffunder and Travis Coy, 152-126-124.
Most surprising ride of the day probably belonged to Oregon’s Devan Bolin. After finishing a strong second, the KTM Country 300 XC-mounted part-time rider admitted, “My goal was top 15 today. My start was where everything [turned around].
“I’m not taking it so serious this year. I just didn’t want to panic the first lap—even though I got a good start I didn’t want to tighten up, didn’t want to get arm pump. Honestly, from there the dust helped me out a bunch.”
As for Coy, the FMF/Maxxis/RPM Racing KTM rider had to come back from a bad start yet managed to snag his second consecutive third-place finish on his Bonanza Plumbing/Motorex/Motorcycle Superstore.com 450 XC-F.
“I think the first lap when they pit-boarded me, they said I was 10th,” he reported. “I just kept trucking along.”
Mach 1 Motorsports KTM’s Steven Godman finished fourth ahead of SRT/Klim KTM’s Tucker Larrieu, both enjoying their best results to date.
Sierra Motorsports KTM’s Joey Fiasconaro effectively clinched the inaugural FMF 250cc Pro championship after finishing sixth overall, unofficially. After running as high as third, his recently separated shoulder began to revolt so he backed his pace down and still won the class by almost eight minutes.
Coiner Trucking KTM’s Alex Dorsey, Purvines Racing Beta’s Axel Pearson and FMF 250cc Pros Justin McGovern and Chaz Halbert rounded out the top 10 overall, unofficially.
The series now takes a break with round seven not until late in October. Also, the final round has been relocated to Laughlin, Nevada.
