HUSQVARNA KICKS OFF GNCC SEASON ON RIGHT FOOT
Kearney off to strong start for 2010

March 3, 2010 - Woodcliff Lake, NJ - With more than 1,200 riders from eight different countries on the starting line, the Grand National Cross Country series is arguably the most competitive off-road racing event in the world. After starting the 2009 season with a badly broken ankle, Team Husqvarna woods specialist Glenn Kearney was in full health and ready to kick some tail at the opening round of the 2010 GNCC series at Westgate River Ranch in Lake Wales, Florida.

"It was a great day for me... a really fun event," explains the Aussie import. "We had a bit of rain in the morning which made for ideal track conditions. Even though it was very sandy and rough, I felt very good all day. The best news is that I'm in great condition and my hands aren't blistered like they normally would be on a rough course like this one." Remember, the typical GNCC consists of running wide open for three hours!

A decent 12th place start had Kearney in the hunt, running inside the top five for a good portion of the race. "I moved up to 8th by the end of the first lap and I continued to ride well and pass for positions, but halfway through the race, I went over the bars and became stuck under the bike for a time." Kearney's blow-by blow account continues, "The crash also caused me to lose my drink system, which I had to replace at the end of the next lap." Each lap consisted 14 miles worth of tight trail, mud holes and whooped out sand sections... no place to be without a drink system.

Despite losing time to the crash and swapping out his hydration pack, Glenn was quickly back up to race pace. "I raced on and got into a good battle with Jimmy Jarrett for quite a while." He then passed defending GNCC series champ Paul Whibley (who had grabbed the holeshot) for 5th place. "But then I got stuck in the mud! I managed to get free and pushed on for the finish, but with less than a half-mile from the finish Thad DuVall snuck past me, so I had to settle for 6th overall."

Glenn attributes his strong opening round to his 2010 Husqvarna. "My TXC 250 4-stroke was flawless. It is light weight, it handles great and I believe it really was the perfect bike for this race." Kearney concedes conventional thinking would have called for a bigger bike, but his Husqvarna was up to the task. "This should have been a hardest track of the year for a 250... if the bike was ever going to have an issue, this would have been the place. But it is so light and handles so well that it allowed me to stay on top of the sand that normally would have sapped the power. I could not be happier with this motorcycle!"

Speaking of his Ben Kearney-prepped race bike, his mechanic/brother has his work cut out for him this week! "I'm headed to Daytona Beach for the Alligator Enduro on Thursday and right after that, it is up to Georgia for the next GNCC this coming weekend."

HUSQVARNA ZIP-TY RACING CONTINUE WINNING WAYS AT WORCS
Davis Dominates In The Desert, Again!

March 3, 2010 - Woodcliff Lake, NJ - One week after being crowned kings of the Adelanto GP, Team Husqvarna Zip-Ty Racing was back on a winning track at round #2 of the WORCS series in Primm, Nevada. Team head honcho Ty Davis continues to lead by example and his protégés Pro Class racer Bobby Garrison and Pro2 Class competitor Cory Graffunder were also on the gas in the Nevada desert.

Ty Davis proved once again why he is one of the fastest vet riders on the planet as he won the 30+ and Vet Pro Class to start things off right on Saturday. "The sand sections were getting pretty whooped out at the end of the day, but the conditions were perfect for racing," says Davis. "The 30+ race was a blast... it was in the Vet Pro Class that there were some challengers." Ty was battling with another cagey veteran Paul Krause right off the start. "That old guy is still pretty fast," laughed Davis of his high desert neighbor and long-time competitor. However Ty's cunning combined with the flawless performance of his TXC 450 soon had him out front and cruising to the class win. "The bike is a rocketship!" exclaims Davis... and in fact it propelled him to wins in the 30+A, 40+A and Vet Pro classes on the weekend.

Saturday's victories inspired Team Husqvarna's young gun Bobby Garrison in the Pro class. After winning on the WR 125 the week before in Adelanto, Garrison was back on the gas on his regular Husqvarna Zip-Ty Racing TC 450 mount. "The little 2-stroke was a blast at the GP, but I needed the big bike for the WORCS course in Primm," Garrison explains. The Pro main featured a dead-engine start and it took Bobby two kicks to get the big thumper lit as more than half the pack got away from him. "Guess I was spoiled by how easy the WR 125 kicked over," he shrugs. However he worked his way up from around 20th to 11th by the end of the first lap and put on a charge that carried him up to 8th by the third lap and into a 4th place dice with Timmy Weigand that continued to the checkered flag. "I gave it all I had to catch him, but was just not able to make it stick," said a spent Garrison. Still, his fine 5th place finish moves him up to 6th overall in the series standings just a few points out of first.


Husqvarna 2010 WR 300In the Pro2 ranks, Cory Graffunder swapped the WR 250 2-stroke he raced to 3rd place at Adelanto the week before for the bigger WR 300. "There is no replacement for displacement in the desert," says the Canadian racer... no comment about the Olympic hockey gold medals, please! Cory fired his Husqvarna up on the first kick and rocketed to the holeshot. "I was going pretty good from what I remember," Graffunder recollects, "then, BOOM!" He hit a hole that pitched him off the bike when it was wide open on the back stretch and crashed hard. "I rang my bell pretty good and wadded the bike up, so I decided to park it for the day." Can you blame him?


"All in all, it was another great weekend for Team Husqvarna Zip-Ty Racing," concludes Davis. "Cory grabbed the holeshot and looked great in his first Pro2 race... well, up until he planted himself, and Garrison was really on the gas in the Pro Main." Naturally Ty neglected to mention the three class wins he bagged on the weekend. "We would like to thank all of our sponsors, families and friends for their support as without them, none of this would be possible."

Next Race: Best In The Desert GPR Stabilizers U.S. Hare Scrambles, Laughlin, Nevada March 5-7.