Al Lamb’s
Dallas Honda -- It was a beautiful racing night for Team Honda on Saturday
at O.Co Coliseum Oakland. Celebrations abounded off track after Trey Canard’s
magnificent rallying performance following his rather disappointing race last
week. The Oklahoma born dynamo crossed the checkered flag grabbing his first
victory of 450SX in almost four years. It was a thrilling night on all accounts
as Trey Canard on unstoppable mode topped timed qualifying practice to conclude
victory at the 450SX main event in grand style.
Positive vibes extended to the rest of Team
Honda with teammate Cole Seely too advancing from a sixth place last week
to a season best fifth position. Eli Tomac from GEICO Honda fared even better
crossing the checkered flag nano-seconds before Seely to grab fourth place in
the race. Tomac recovered beautifully after an edgy start to the race. All in
all it was an exciting race for the three Factory
CRF 450R racers all of whom secured places within the top five. Adding
further buzz to victory spirits GEICO Honda racer Malcolm Stewart was placed
first in the 250SX class.
Highlights
·
Thursday before race night Trey Canard appeared
in-studio on the Sports Talk Live telecast by Comcast SportsNet San Francisco.
It was a four minute live aired feature showcasing the dynamic Factory Honda
CRF450R ridden by Canard. The report Jim Kozimor concluded the vibrant
interview with a punchy ‘Go Honda Racing, go Trey Canard & go 41’.
·
The qualifying practices saw four riders
clicking off laps in 51 second range. Canard scored the best with a classy
51.3587. Seely was placed at the eight place with 52.650 while Eli Tomac from
GEICO Honda won fourth place with a timing of 51.944.
·
Seely had a dodgy start on heat one going off
line but rallied about by gaining ground and passing the rider in front to
finish fifth. He had to advance through second semi race where he had leads in
most laps and a concluding win.
·
Canard meanwhile with his win at the main event
went on to capitalize on Ken Roczen, the overall point leader. After victory
Canard climbed the point ladder to third place from a fifth standing. At 68
total points now he is only 10 behind Ken Roczen. Roczen lost a notch slipping
to second position 14 points behind Ryan Dungey the new score leader.
·
Seely is on a steady climb moving from 11th
place to seventh in the overall championship points with a total count of 45.
·
In the main event Seely consolidated his
performance when he moved from fifth place to second on lap five. His glory as
runner-up was but temporary as Canard was in turbo-mode throughout the night
crossing his teammate in the seventh lap. A slight mistake also put Seely behind
though he quickly rebounded to pass the flag on fifth place. On lap seven
Canard overtook Chad Reed who was in the lead and continued to dominate the
rest of 20 lap race.
·
Fastest man on track that night was without a
doubt Canard with an excellent timing of 52.106 seconds. Seely also shared the
52 second range scoring a timing of 52.742.
·
Canard’s last similar winning was in 2011 April
when he cruised through the track on a CRF 450R at Arlington Texas. The interim
period saw him tumbling through a series of injuries and partial season
participation which impeded his stake at championship. After winning, Canard
said that with everything that took place over the years he felt so blessed and
grateful to have a chance at being back on top of podium. ‘I really feel that I
have been put on earth to ride dirt bikes. So I am going to give it my 100%
effort in achieving my goals’ he further said.
·
After the main event Team Honda is now back in
Southern California where they are expected to race on January 31st for the
third and final stop of the season at Angel Stadium. Anticipation moves-up with
both Canard and Seely vying for higher positions in 450SX.
·
The day before race Red Riders are expected to
appear for a autograph signing session at Malcolm Smith Motorsports.
Team Honda in Bay
Area
After successive interviews and a heady pre-race press
day Thursday Team Honda riders had the rare opportunity of enjoying some
hard-earned recreational time. They were seen in the Bay Area where Cole Seely
and his trainer Brian Lopes took Santa Cruz on their stride on mountain bikes
along with other crew members, riders and journalists. Team Honda members and crew explored famous
Pier 39 and the Fisherman’s Wharf as well as taking an exhilarating boat tour
of the bay which covered Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate Bridge and other
interesting places of historical interest.
QUOTES
Trey Canard
“I’m just so happy with how tonight went, I don’t even
know what to say. I didn’t think I would be on the podium after the first few
laps; it was chaotic out there. It’s been a long haul to get here on top of the
podium, but it feels so great. Everyone on the team has been working their
butts off this season and I’m so grateful that I could finally give them what
they’ve been working so hard for, a win. I got lucky with Kenny’s [Roczen]
problem, so now the points gap has been closed a bit. I just need to work on my
starts and stay on the podium each week, and it’ll be a fight to the end.”
Cole Seely
“I’m excited and happy with how the night went. We’re
moving in the right direction, for sure. I felt like I was hitting all my marks
really well, and I put myself up front and in a good position early in the
race. Unfortunately, I made some mistakes five or six laps in, which really cost
me a lot of time and positions. I’m happy I was able to regroup and shake it
off to salvage a fifth from that, which is my best finish of the season. My
starts are improving and I’m riding well.”
Dan Betley: Team
Manager
“I couldn’t be any happier for Trey or our team tonight.
He’s worked so hard and has such dedication, even after enduring so such
adversity in his career. For him to win another supercross race is just
fantastic. He got a bad start but somehow found a way to make it through the
pack on the first lap, even after getting slammed by another rider. He just put
his head down, made the passes he needed to and rode his own race. It was also
a good night for Eli and Cole, who took fourth and fifth for the night. In the
last four rounds we’ve won two, taken two pole positions, and won heat races.
We’re obviously on our way up, and I’m excited.”
Satoshi
Matsushima: HGA Chassis Engineer
“It was a very good night for Honda, first with GEICO
Honda’s Malcolm Stewart winning the 250 class, then team HRC’s Trey Canard
winning the 450 class with a very good, steady ride! GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac
and Team HRC’s Cole Seely struggled a little bit in the race but were able to
finish fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 450 class, so we had three Hondas
in the top five in the 450 class! We’ll keep on trying for the championship,
and thanks for your support!”
Brent Presnell:
Mechanic (Trey Canard)
“Tonight was awesome! Trey was really fast all day long,
so I knew he was capable of pulling off the win. He got a bad start but somehow
was able to charge through the pack and make his way up to the front pretty
quickly. Once he was in the lead, he was able to just manage his race. The last
couple laps were extremely nerve-racking, with a few sketchy moments, but luckily
he was able to keep it together. This is one of those confidence-boosting wins
and definitely a great building block for the rest of the year.”
Rich Simmons:
Mechanic (Cole Seely)
“I think each week Cole has shown good improvement.
Tonight’s goal was to be in the top five and we achieved that, so it was a good
night for us. He’s been riding well all year, but now he’s just racing better
overall by putting himself in a good position and making passes. We want to
continue to build on this and hopefully be up on the podium soon.”
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