The rising Bathurst charger showed he’s got a whole lot more than a surname behind him when he finished on the podium in last year’s AORC E2 Championship, and seventh outright – in a year where his goal was just to crack the top ten.
“There are no words to describe how excited I am to be in the factory team – growing up I’ve watched all my brothers do it at some point or another, so it’s good to have done enough to get that sort of support,” expressed Graham.
“I started doing a bit more last year and the results in competition came. Top-three at Monkerai gave me a lot of confidence – running with all those guys who are paid to do it was awesome!
The 450 is a great all-round bike, and I prefer it because it’s not too big or too small – I can throw it around nicely.
I’m excited to work with Christian and the great group of guys we have; it’s going to be very positive.
The goal with every race is to go out there and win it, but I want to be in that top three all year. I know there will be a lot of quick guys, but I’ll do my best.”
He’ll return this year aboard his favoured Husqvarna FE450 in the E2 category, alongside another familiar name, with Lachy Stanford taking over the lead rider position in his fourth year with the Husqvarna team.
The Byron Bay local made 2016 his most successful season ever when he finished the AORC 4th outright and second in E3 on his powerful FE501. At 25 years of age, and training harder than ever, he’s primed to fight out for the 2017 title.
Again, his weapon of choice will be the Husqvarna FE501, a machine perfectly suited to Stanford’s silky smooth style.
“Definitely happy to be a part of the Husqvarna Enduro Team this year, it’s great to work with Christian again – he and I have worked together since the beginning,” said Stanford.
“He’s going to step up into the role of managing this year so it will be good. With the AORC and the Four-Day this year I’m definitely going in hard and we’ll definitely be in with a fighting chance. I’ve stepped up the training looking for any kind of cross-training advantage. Every day is just flat out doing something new.
“I never thought for a moment about changing from the 501. I really love being on that bike and it suits me so there was no question about it.”
Keeping the whole show tied together, former motocross pro Christian Horwood will step up from the Head Technician role he’s held for the last three years, to the Team Management role left vacant by Glenn Kearney.
“I’m honoured for Jeff and Rob to give me this opportunity. I’ve had three great years working alongside Glenn, and being the professional he is, he’s been a really good mentor,” said Horwood.
“With Broc’s famous surname it’s fantastic to have him on board. He came on really strong towards the back end of 2016 and showed his potential with some top three times, so it’s fantastic to see how the Husqvarna support riders – including Lyndon with KTM – have gone on to factory rides.
“This will be Lachy’s fourth year with us and if he makes the same gains as he did last year, I really believe he’s a title contender. I’ve always believed in his ability.”
