Five Minutes with … George De Graaf Jr.
JULY 1, 2008

Lethbridge Yamaha's George De Graaf Jr.

By Danny Brault
Photos by James Lissimore

There is some promising young motocross talent emerging from Southern Alberta, with pros Luke Firth and George De Graaf Jr. leading the charge. Both are under 18, ride Yamahas, and each took turns giving established national rider, Chuck Mesley, fits last week at the Raymond Amateur National. I first met De Graaf in 2006 in Raymond when he was racing against me in the intermediate classes. He didn’t have the best looking bikes or the best style, but he sure could ride a bike—and it was only his third year racing! A year later, De Graaf turned pro and instantly found himself up front at the provincials and the WCAN, battling with Johnny Montes and Mesley. Oh, and George isn’t the son of vet legend, Pete De Graaf, that’s his uncle. We caught up with George shortly after winning the final Youth moto over Mesley at this year’s WCAN.

RXC: So who’s faster, you or Luke Firth?
George De Graaf Jr: [Laughs] Well, today in this last moto, I think I was a little faster. I don’t think he could run the pace or else he was a little tired.

He’s going to see this on the internet, you know?
[Laughs] Okay, well, between Luke and I it’s been a battle every single year. We’re pretty close in speed and we go back and forth usually every weekend. He hasn’t been coming to any of the big provincials this year though.

So what is it with the De Graaf family? You are all tall and all fast on dirt bikes.
[Laughs] I don’t know. Pete is unreal for how old he is. My dad too and his brother, Rena, have been racing for a long time back in Holland, doing enduro types of racing. We came down here and my dad didn’t ride too much—but I guess it runs through the blood. It started in 2004, after I was done swimming and it’s been going good ever since.

So your dad, George Sr., and Pete, are from Holland?
Yep, they’re all from Holland.

Is that a tradition then that fathers name their sons after them?
Uh, I’m not too sure. I guess it’s pretty cool how Nico’s first name is Pete, the same as his dad’s, and then George and George, and also his other brother Rene’s son’s name is Rene. I guess it’s some sort of tradition [laughs].

De Graaf (266) leads Luke Firth (98) into the first corner at Raymond. De Graaf finished third in GP Pro/Am and second in Youth.

Both you and Firth are great riders, but why don’t you race more of the pro nationals?
This year we’re trying to focus on doing well at the provincials, seeing if I can win. Next year, we’re going to try and hit all of the nationals and train in California this winter and try to get faster.

Are we going to see you in Nanaimo? Edmonton?
Yep. I’m going to Edmonton. Not too sure yet which bike I’m going to ride, but probably the 250.

Are there any riders who you’ve looked up to?
I looked up to my uncle right away when I first started. I heard so much about him; he was older and people couldn’t believe how well he was doing. I look up to Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael too.

I’ve noticed at Raymond that the locals take a lot of pride in beating the “outsiders” like Chuck Mesley.
[Laughs] I try really hard to beat these guys; they’ve been in it for a long time and definitely have a lot more experience and you see that on the track. We just try to battle with them and get faster. It’s good that they come out to these races because we learn new things.

How old are you now, George?
17.

Are you working? Still in school?
No, actually I just graduated and I worked at Wal-Mart in the winter [laughs]. It helped pay for some of my two bikes.

That’s awesome! I remember my first job in high school, I was flipping burgers at Wendy’s [laughs].
Yeah, you gotta start out small, and, hopefully, in a few years I can make it up there.

Definitely. Thanks a lot, George!
Thank you.