Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128389
Brian Garrahan: Off-RoaCi Journeyman After eight years with KTM, Brian Garrahan set out on his own in hopes of nabbing his first off-road title. Now riding a privately funded Suzuki, the Northern Californian is making a serious run for this year's AMA National Hare Scrambles title, as well as the OMA Championship. And when he's not busy chasing the1hare scrambles or the OMA titles, Garrahan hits up as many GNCC races as he can, as well. We caught up with Garrahan in Illinois before the fifth round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series, which he was set to compete in. en: How are you liking your Suzuki, and what prompted the change? briangarrahan: The bike is working out really good. I have some support from Rent One Online and Nor Cal Motorsports and they bought me a couple of motorcycles, and they have been working out really well. I like the way the power delivery is and how the suspension works. KTM and I just didn't see eye to eye. They wanted something and I wanted something, and we just didn't agree on it. I had been riding for them for eight years, and I figured I was higher on the totem pole than what they thought I was. They were going for a new outlook on racing and I just decided to do my own thing and put my own program together. en: You come into the Illinois Hare Scrambles event leading the point standings. How has the season been for you so far? briangarrahan: The Hare Scrambles Series is still a pretty tight battle and Jason Raines missed the first race at the beginning of the year, but he is starting to pick it up a little bit. Chuck Woodford ended up getting hurt also and missed one of the rounds, so basic consistency has played into my hand, I have made all of the rounds, and that is why I am where I am at right now. I've led this series two or three times before, so I've been in this situation before. So, I know what I need to do and what I don't need to do. I've been doing good in the GNCCs, and I've been also been riding the OMA series, and I've had some good results. en: Is there anyone of the series that you prefer over the other? briangarrahan: There is a big difference between the GNCCs and the Hare Scrambles. The GNCCs are pretty whooped out and the hare scrambles are more of an off-road-oriented event for motorcycles. There is more single-track in hare scrambles, and in GNCC, there are more quads running, so by the time we get on the track, the lines are all blown out. In the hare scrambles, you have to look for a good line to pass. en: What are your plans for the rest of the year? briangarrahan: Well, there are a couple of conflicts in the hare scrambles and Jason Raines: Back on Top Am Pro Yamaha's Jason Raines, the defending National Hare Scrambles champ, is finally getting back up to speed after an off-season shoulder surgery. After a slow start to the 2005 season, Raines appears to be back to his old form. en: So. how is the shoulder doing now? jasonraines: I am finally over all of my injuries, and everything is 100 percent. That was my biggest problem during the first part of the year ['05]. I had surgery at the end of October, and that gave me three months to get good and ready. I'd heard stories about shoulder rehab, and as a racer you always think, "I'll be ready qUicker." So I pushed myself and really worked hard with physical therapy and I thought I was okay. But it was fine for the first hour and a half [during a race], but the second hour and a half, my shoulder was so weak that Icouldn't use it. It got so bad in Florida that I couldn't even lift it from my side. I was really frustrated, and I would go home and try to work it harder, and it was one of those things, like any injury, where you just keep pushing through and keep pushing through and then all of a sudden you just look back and think, "I wonder when it stopped hurting?" So it's going good now. I think I am over it, and my confidence is back. en: You have come on strong in the last few events. Do you feel you are riding as well as you were last year? jasonraines: I think I am. My shoulder feels good, and I just need to get that confidence behind me. I have had some real bad starts at the last couple of GNCCs, and I came from way back in the pack. So, I feel really good. en: There are many off-road series these days. with the OMA, GNCC, WORCs and Hare Scrambles. Do you think there are too many? jasonraines: There are a lot, but if you think about it, there are only two National series in the United States - the National Hare Scrambles Series and the National Enduro Series. Everything else is a regional series. I know that the GNCC Series is the biggest series in the U.S., but it is still a regional series. The OMA series is a good series, and it is for the guys in the Midwest that don't want to travel to the GNCC events in the East. And the WORCS series is basically a West Coast series. We have talked in the past about breaking it all up and making one series, and that is fine for someone who's got a good ride and doesn't have to worry about the money. But for a privateer to make that commitment every week to drive all over the country, it is a tough thing to do. en: What·s the main difference between a GNCC and a National Hare Scrambles? jasonraines: The GNCCs have more ATVs, and the tracks every year are getting faster and faster. I would say that they have done a good job to try to add some stuff just for motorcycles and make it a little tougher and tighter. Hare Scrambles is more of a grassroots series. Some clubs have a totally different track for the ATVs and a separate track for the motorcycles. That is what I enjoy about the hare scrambles - it's woods and single-track stuff. You are riding on single-track and not an ATV track. en: Now that we are at the midpoint in the season. have you set new goals for the year? jasonraines: Iam just going race by race. If you look at the end of the tunnel, you kind of lose track of what is right in front of you. So, I am just focusing on the goals right in front of me, and I don't worry about the points until the year is over. By Shan Moore