FP Racing’s Las Vegas EnduroCross Race Report FP Racing’s Ryan Graffunder earned some serious stripes at the opening round of the 2012 AMA EnduroCross series in Las Vegas and made another big step forward in his quest to challenge the best off-road racers on the globe. Saint John, NB – May 8, 2012 -
With only a few previous endurocross events under his belt, Ryan’s main goal was to try and qualify for the night program in the official AMA series for his first time in Las Vegas. Graffunder posted solid results in the Open Amateur Class in the day-time qualifiers nailing 3rd place in his first heat race and then following it up with 1st place in his semi. After a slow start in the final, Ryan would fight his way forward but was unable to catch the leaders before the checkers and finished the day 4th Overall in Open Amateur. In an effort to maximize his seat time and build experience, Graffunder double-classed Vegas by also jumping head first into the EX Pro Class. Ryan showed his true grit and talent by nailing 3rd place in his first EX Pro heat which immediately qualified him for the Pro night program.
Ryan Graffunder
Ryan Sanders Photo
In the EX Pro Feature, Graffunder’s first heat race turned out to be one that he would like to forget. A series of mistakes and crashes left the young warrior with a bruised ego and sitting in 10th position. With a fire in his belly, Ryan retaliated in his semi to earn a solid 4th place behind off-road legend Destry Abbot and ahead of a handful of seasoned Pros including Ryan Sandoval, Rory Sullivan, Wally Palmer and top Canadian racers Shane Cuthbertson and Tyler Murray. With only 11 riders advancing to the EX Pro final, Ryan lined up for the EX Pro LCQ with one last shot of making the final. Although his finish in the LCQ did not allow him to advance to the final, he was scored Top 20 Overall for the event amongst the Pros (17th) and earned the first AMA Pro points of his young career. There is no doubt that Graffunder was very pleased with his progress and is hungry for his next shot at making the final in Sacramento, California on June 9th. “My open amateur races went well but I got a mid-pack start to my amateur final and had to battle for a fourth place finish and wasn't able to catch the lead group.” said Graffunder. “My first Pro race went really well and I qualified out of my first heat for the Pro night show. Things got a little tougher in the night program. I had a bad hot lap and then my first Pro heat was terrible. I had some crashes I was not happy with myself. When it was time for the semi I knew I had to ride well and ended up 4th. It was good enough to get me to the LCQ and more importantly into the top 20 so the next race I don't have to qualify for the night show.”
Ryan Sanders Photo
Since 2007, Feeding Performance has supported more than a dozen of Canada’s top racers as they challenged the sport’s best competitors across Canada and in various countries around the globe, including; Austria, Brazil, Chile, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the United States.
In addition to impressive finishes at extreme events such as Erzberg, Hell’s Gate, Red Bull Romaniacs, Last Man Standing and Xtinction, FP supported riders have stormed their way to over 100 Pro Podiums, including multiple Championships and more than 40 Wins, in Regional and National competitions across Canada. We are very grateful to our many amazing sponsors that provide us with the outstanding support that has allowed us to help raise the bar in Canadian off-road racing. Without them, none of it would be possible.
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