Al Lamb’s Dallas
Honda -- It was another night of glory for GEICO Honda Team and especially
for Eli Tomac. The rider triumphed after a tricky start to 2015 season with two
crashes in the main event. Eli Tomac who had to take the checkered flag at 20th
spot in series opener went on to show his true reckoning at round two Phoenix
Supercross held in Arizona. GEICO Honda rider’s spectacular performance
more than made up for the lackluster finish of his two teammates Cole Seely and
Trey Canard despite top notch performance anticipated from them by all. The
squad however, managed to maintain the spotlight position with Tomac’s
magnificent ride making him the fastest rider in the qualifying rounds.
Eli Tomac made his debut premium victory riding a factory
CRF450R similar to Seely and Canard. Canard’s ride for the evening began with a
hiccup which ultimately cost him in completing a top finish. Yet the talented
rider consolidated his standing as a top contender challenging a powerful
roundup of peer talent and crossing the checkered flag to grab an intimidating
eight place. Seely’s bad luck from the main event followed him to round two. A
few glitches and bumps along the way put him in a subdued fourteenth position
behind than ultimately hoped for. Encouragement prevailed with a silver lining
for Seely who had a career first win in the 450 heat race held earlier on the
same day.
Ride Highlights
Just before the race both Cole Seely and Trey Canard of Team
Honda made an autograph signing appearance at Phoenix Dealership, Ride Now
Powersports. The duo will make a similar appearance on January 16th at
Huntington Beach Honda at 6 pm. Also expected to join the two riders are
Malcolm Stewart and Matt Bisceglia stalwart riders of GEICO Honda Team.
The race day also saw Rich Simmons mechanic of Seely and
Biran Kranz mechanic of star rider Eli Tomac of Honda meeting with a large
gathering of students representing Phoenix campus Motorcycle Mechanics
Institute. The mechanics are both graduate technicians of the institute program
and were enthusiastic about their opportunity of meeting with these students
and providing them with insights to the life of a factory mechanic.
Canard accomplished sixth fastest qualifying time with a
55.457 second record at the daytime program finishing just a hair breath off
top man Eli Tomac’s mark. Seely finished at 10th pace with 55.891 a record just
four tenths of a second after Canard.
The lead was taken by Seely in the first heat race with
him continuing to dominate the entire race from start to finish. Tomac buoyed
Team Honda’s spirits by topping heat two. Thus Honda team mates won both heat
races as well as the ultimate main event for the day at Phoenix. The difference
between win times in six lap heat races at .173 seconds was infinitesimal. The
three riders on factory CRF450R all qualified direct to the main event with
Canard finishing up fourth in first heat.
Before the main event mechanics of Team Honda enhanced
performance quality of CRF450R race bikes by fixing road race type tire warmers
on the rear Dunlops. Dan Betley, Team Manager explained this move saying this
is a technique used in some races to get a smooth heat cycle from the tires
before race begins. ‘Even though tires can cool off by the time race actually
starts the heat cycle help slightly change compound helping with traction’ he
further explained.
While the live television coverage was on Fox Sports 1
interchanged into a mini-feature dubbed ‘Passion to Persevere – and Trey Canard
on Balanced Life’. This was a highly charged and emotional piece with centre
stage set at Canard’s home in Oklahoma. The feature included shots of the rider
during off-season with coverage on his faith, convalescing from injuries as
well as the touching story of how he met his wife Hannah during a mission in the
wilderness Africa.
The next lap takes place at Angel Stadium of Anaheim as
Team Honda campaigns second of three AMA SuperCross 2015 rounds on January 17.
Red Riders in the
limelight
It’s always easy to spot the semi trucks of GEICO Honda
and Team Honda in the pits of AMA Supercross. They are parked next to one
another. It is not just for the view but also for practicality. Eli Tomac’s
mechanic works out of the semi truck of Team Honda. All three riders Tomac,
Canard and Seely receive same technical backing and support from HRC. With
birds of a feather flocking together the spirits are always high. This was
aptly displayed by the sharing of glory of Tomac’s first premier class victory
within the entire Honda pit area.
Dan Betley, Team Honda Manager commented on the unity of
his team saying ‘I am really happy with communication of all three riders at
this point’. He also mentioned that all three riders get together to watch
films and share information on track lines. ‘I couldn’t be happier with their
camaraderie, among both staff and riders. With everybody helping each other it
is great. Yes Trey and Cole were bummed for their Phoenix results but they are
still happy to see that both equipment and staff are capable’ said Betley.
QUOTES
Trey Canard
“It was a good night in that I left healthy and ready for
next weekend. I’m not happy with the result, but I believe that over the course
of the season, all the top riders will have a night like I had here at Phoenix.
I’m really excited for my fellow Honda rider on his win, and for all of HRC.
Hopefully we can continue the success for them as we go forward.”
Cole Seely
“The heat race was good—I felt like I was flowing and
riding well—but the main event just kind of unraveled on me. My start was okay,
but I got into it with Chad Reed and a couple other riders. I started going
backward and got arm pump, so it was tough. I’ll just take the heat-race win,
build off of that and keep plugging away. The bike felt good all night.”
Keisuke Inomoto:
Representative Director, Team HRC Motocross
"I’m pleased with Honda rider Eli Tomac’s win in the
main at Phoenix! He did a great job to win his heat race, and then he managed
the main very well. Trey Canard finished eighth, as his start was not so good;
nevertheless, he did a good job charging forward, and things will come together
for him in the coming races. Cole Seely was 14th, but he took his first heat
win and started strongly in the main. I think he could get a victory if he
continues on this path. I feel that Eli’s win shows our ability, which we have
been cultivating. We’ll analyze what to revise so that we’ll be able to get
more good results. Please continue your support of Team Honda and HRC!”
Dan Betley: Team
Manager
“Eli had a great night. I’m so happy for him and so proud
of the team, because everybody has pulled together this year. All the testing
we’ve done has been awesome, and I can’t say enough about the team. I’m a
little bummed for Trey and Cole. Trey rode a little stiff all night long, but
he thinks he knows what was up, which is good. Cole had a great heat-race win
and rode great, but he kind of got knocked around in the main. It was tough for
those guys, but it was nice to see Honda on top of the box.”
Brent Presnell:
Mechanic (Trey Canard)
“Trey had decent times in practice, and we’re coming away
healthy, but he just didn’t have the same aggression that he did last week;
some nights you have it and some nights you don’t. I guess eighth place isn’t
bad when you start 18th. It looked like his reaction was a little off on the
start; Kenny Roczen and those guys got a handlebar on him right out of the
gate, and then he was just closed off at that point. We’ll look for a good result
at Anaheim 2.”
Rich Simmons:
Mechanic (Cole Seely)
“I think we should have gone further outside on our gate
pick, but that’s hindsight. The first turn was really tight on the inside, so
if you didn’t get the jump, you were stuck waiting for everybody to clear out.
We just need to work on being more aggressive. Cole was too patient, and he got
pushed around by some other guys and had to work his way back through them. The
heat race was awesome though—he got a great start and was really consistent. We
just need to work on duplicating that in the main event.”
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