Honda Red Riders Win Big In Jacksonville
After finishing second in his heat race, Canard got away to a good start in the main event, moving into the lead on the opening lap. Once out front, Canard held on to his lead for the majority of the race until fellow Honda racer TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed made a pass for the lead during the closing stages of the race. Canard retaliated and passed Reed that same lap to resume control out front and take the victory for the second time this season.
“I got a great start in the main tonight, which I’m pumped about because starts are something I’ve worked really hard to improve. And I’m ecstatic to get my second win of the season,” said Canard. “I was really fast on most areas of the track, but the whoops were a thorn in my side tonight. However, I definitely made up time by keeping low over the jumps and scrubbing hard. Reed was fast through the whoops, and he was there to capitalize on my mistakes. We had a good battle late in the race in which he passed me, and I got him right back. We battled to the very end, and I’m just stoked to put the American Honda Racing Team on top for the second time this season, plus it’s awesome to see Honda finish one-two on the podium.”
Canard’s fill-in teammate Cole Seely finished sixth in his heat race, and after getting a mid-pack start in the Supercross main had worked his way up into seventh position when he went down on lap five. Losing a lap in the fall, Seely recovered to finish a hard-fought 15th overall.
Reed put in a solid performance aboard his Honda CRF450R, moving into second position on the opening lap where he stayed for almost the entire race. Although Reed’s effort to clinch the top spot from Canard near the end of the race was not successful, his runner-up result was good enough to elevate him to second overall in the championship points chase. GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham had his best showing of the season, finishing just shy of the podium in fourth place.
In the Supercross Lites East competition, GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia recorded his second victory of the season, which extended his lead in the championship standings to 17 points. Barcia let off a hot start in the main by nabbing the holeshot. Despite racing with a broken wrist, Barcia then raced away to a commanding lead and led wire to wire to take the victory. Teammate Blake Wharton won convincingly in his heat race but crashed out of the Lites main event on lap four after going down hard in the whoops. Fellow Honda racers Darryn Durham, Les Smith and Taylor Futrell each had strong showings aboard their Honda CRF250Rs, rounding out sixth, seventh and eighth places, respectively.
Supercross Lites East Results
1. Justin Barcia (Honda)
2. Dean Wilson
3. Ryan Sipes
4. Matt Lemoine
5. PJ Larsen
6. Darryn Durham (Honda)
7. Les Smith (Honda)
8. Taylor Futrell (Honda)
10. Justin Sipes
Supercross Lites East Points (after 5 of 9 rounds)
1. Justin Barcia 116
2. Ryan Sipes 99
3. Dean Wilson 97
4. Blake Baggett 85
5. Blake Wharton 69
6. Matt Lemoine 69
7. PJ Larsen 62
8. Malcolm Stewart 53
9. Jason Anderson 44
10. Lance Vincent 43
Supercross Results
1. Trey Canard (Honda)
2. Chad Reed (Honda)
3. Ryan Dungey
4. Kevin Windham (Honda)
5. Andrew Short
6. Ivan Tedesco
7. Mike Alessi
9. Nick Wey
10. Chris Blose
Supercross Championship Points (after 11 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto 221
2. Chad Reed 214
3. Ryan Dungey 203
4. James Stewart 198
5. Trey Canard 194
6. Andrew Short 145
7. Kevin Windham 121
8. Justin Brayton 121
9. Davi Millsaps 118
10. Brett Metcalfe 107