CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki – San Francisco

February 3, 2009 11:34pm

San Francisco, CA - Saturday's race at AT&T Park in San Francisco marked the critical half-way point in the season. Both CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki team riders were again paired against each other in the second Heat Race. As Heat #2 shot out of the gate, Kyle Cunningham and P.J. Larsen were inside the top 9, which is exactly where they needed to be to qualify for the Main Event. Cunningham crossed the finish line at the end of the first lap in 6th place and Larsen was in 9th. The two riders worked their way through the field in the short, six lap sprint as they figured out the tough track built on the floor of AT&T Park. Cunningham raced his #36 Kawasaki across the finish line in 4th place while Larsen finished in 6th. It was a great start to the evening!

CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods sponsors the "Lucky Dog" Last Chance Qualifier, which is the final opportunity for all remaining riders to make it into the "Big Show.” Phoenix, Arizona's Chris Blose and Adam Chatfield from Cherry Valley, CA were the last two "Lucky Dog's" to qualify for the 20 rider Main Event.

The Main Event riders were in the gate, as the San Francisco crowd was growing loud with excitement! When the gate fell, the crowd erupted as the 20 top "Lites" riders headed into turn #1. Cunningham found himself in 6th place in the thick of the lead pack as the group crossed the finished line on lap 1, and Larsen was just outside the top ten in 12th place. Cunningham settled into a good pace for the next few laps and held 6th place, while Larsen had a few bobbles and fell back to 14th. By lap four, Larsen settled down and began to move through the pack while Cunningham moved up to 5th. On lap 8, Cunningham was on the outside of Kawasaki rider Ryan Morais in a tight bowl turn as the rear end of Morais' bike spun out forcing Cunningham to hit the jump at the wrong angle and projecting him and the bike high into the air and off the side of the track. Cunningham somehow managed to save the bike from crashing in a miraculous recovery as he landed on a tough block on the slippery concrete floor from 30 feet above! The incident cost the rider four positions relegating him back to 9th, just two spots ahead of the charging Larsen. Cunningham worked his way around one rider and moved into 8th before the finish, while Larsen finished just behind in 9th. Both riders finished inside the top 10 which helped the team in the Championship points battle with the rookie sensation, P.J. Larsen in 8th at the end of the night and Kyle Cunningham moving up 6 spots to the 12th position overall. With only four races left, the team is in a good position to pursue the title.

We are continually improving our event and point standing positions at each race. Larsen is currently top rookie and 18 points from breaking into the top five in the point standings which is a great Supercross season for a rookie in the competitive west coast series. Cunningham is quickly making up ground in the points. He looks like he'll break into a top five race finish soon.

The CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki team hopes to see you at the next round in Anaheim, CA on February 7th as the team takes on the toughest track so far this season. See you there!

About CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods
Founded out of love for pets and animals, CANIDAE Pet Food, Inc. manufactures and distributes a complete line of healthy meat based, holistic all natural dog food, cat food, and gourmet pet treats sold world wide through independent pet food retailers including over 6000 locations throughout the United States and Canada. For more information visit http://www.canidae.com/.

Written & Submitted by:
Jason Cobb
CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki
CANIDAE Racing
factory25@cox.net
www.CanidaeRacing.com

Media Contact:
Jim Mantych
CANIDAE Pet Foods
CANIDAE Racing
Marketing & Communications
promotions@canidae.com
800-398-1600 ext 519