Husqvarna's Burson & Roeseler Win, Thomas Podiums, Graffunder Back In Action!‏

For Zip-Ty Husqvarna's Nick Burson, it was a slam-dunk in the USDR at round three of the series. Burson and his TXC511 grabbed the holeshot in the desert race and led from wire to wire, taking a commanding win at Red Mountain.

"It
was a really fun course," Burson said. "It was a little slower and more
technical than normal and they put in an expert section for our race.
It was a mile and a half of rocks, up hill and downhill. My TXC511 works really good in the rocks so it was good for me. I have confidence there and I can put time on people."

Burson
came into the weekend tied in points with Ryan Kudla but came away with
the points lead after he left Kudla to collect a distant second for the
day.

Larry Roeseler brought another win for Husqvarna - his in the WORCS 50+ A class at Glen Helen. Roeseler raced his TXC511 to victory in the morning race, and was proud to put Husky on the podium for the second weekend in a row.

For Zip-Ty Husqvarna's Cory Graffunder, the weekend was about staying in the championship rather than getting the win. Graffunder (aboard a TXC449)
made his return to racing at the Glen Helen WORCS race, after receiving
doctor clearance to ride the day before the race. A broken scaphoid
(wrist) sidelined Graffunder just before the X Games, but fortunately he
only missed one round of the WORCS Pro2 championship and is still in
the hunt after hanging on for a top-ten finish at Glen Helen.

"It
was my first race back, first time on a bike in a couple months so I
wasn't really expecting to do anything special," Graffunder explained,
"just get some points. That keeps me second in the Pro2 championship for
now. That's really all today was about - staying in the championship
chase."

Fortunately Graffunder's wrist felt strong all day -
thanks to his Allsport Dynamics brace - but his hands proved to be the
weak link during Sunday's race. "Every part of your body gets weak and
soft when you don't ride," Graffunder said. "You don't really notice it
until you start riding again and you're sore everywhere. From this
point, we'll just be rehabbing and riding to get back to where I was so I
can battle hard in the last two rounds for the championship."

On the East Coast, it was Jason Thomas on
the podium again in the XC2 Lites class. The FAR Husqvarna racer got
off to a third-place start on the Somerset, Pennsylvania course aboard
his TXC250,
and was in a three-way battle for the lead for the majority of the
race. On the last lap, Thomas moved into the lead, but went on to hit a
stump in the grass and crash. He got back up and rode to the checkers
for a hard-fought third-place finish, and though it wasn't the outcome
he was looking for, Thomas was still able to gain valuable points in the
XC2 championship. He currently sits second - now 19 points down from
the leader.

"I just wanted to be smooth all day," Thomas said.
"The track was so rocky and slippery. I was just waiting for the last
lap and passed for first with a few miles to go. But I hit a hidden
stump in the grass. I gained some points, but I needed to gain more."

Nick Burson rocketed his way to a convincing win at round three of the USDR series in Red Mountain, CA. Photo: Steven Mullis


The
Glen Helen WORCS race marked Cory Graffunder's return to racing, where
he kept his Pro2 championship hopes alive with a top-ten finish. Photo: Resmarket.com


Jason
Thomas was in a three-way dogfight for the lead, but had to settle for
third after crashing on the last lap. Photo: Fred Andrews Racing