GEICO Powersports Honda Salt Lake City Report
Salt Lake City, Utah – The 2009 AMA Supercross Series is winding down, and the GEICO Powersports Honda team headed into the Salt Lake City Supercross not knowing what the dirt would be like, or what the weather had in store. In the end, despite having second practice canceled during the day because of rain, the track ended up really good for the night’s racing.
In the Lites class, 2008 East champ Trey Canard had a perfect night.
“I’ve been feeling good on the bike over the whole break, and things seemed to come together for me during the week,” Canard said. “Seattle went good for me speedwise, and then in Salt Lake I just had another good day. I felt good in practice, got a good start in the heat race and won that, and that made me feel pretty good. I was pretty stoked on that. I started out with a decent start in the main, and the first corner got a little hairy, and I was about sixth and just slowly tried to pick guys off.”
Eventually, Canard chased down eventual champion Ryan Dungey and passed him for the lead, then fought off series runner-up Jake Weimer to take his first win of the season.
“I was a little timid around Dungey because I didn’t want to mess him up,” Canard said. “I just tried to keep my head down and push through. I ran into a couple lappers near the end that hurt me, but the last lap was definitely a barnburner for sure. I was happy to get the win, though.”
Canard carries this momentum into the East/West Shootout this weekend in Las Vegas.
In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham was having a good day. In the main event, though, he was moving forward when he encountered a bit of a malfunction.
“We started out pretty good, and I was feeling fast and heading in the right direction, and then on about lap eight I started feeling something unusual with the bike, and it turned out we had a clutch issue,” Windham said. “It was a bit of a frustrating weekend for me.”
Windham still hung on for a strong seventh-place finish.
“It’s not bad, but nine times out of ten in this industry, if you finish seventh, most people don’t even know why because the coverage back there isn’t really good, and there’s such a great race up front,” Windham said. “But at this point, with where I’m at in the series, it’s just frustrating. I’ve just got to keep plugging away until I’m where I think we can be.”
From here, the GEICO Powersports Honda team heads to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the final round of the AMA Supercross Series, and the Lites East/West Shootout on May 2 inside Sam Boyd Stadium. There will be five riders underneath the awning, with Windham, Canard, Dan Reardon, Blake Wharton and Daniel Blair all taking part in the event.
Team Sponsors: GEICO Powersports, Honda, Planet Fitness, Unbound Energy, AM/PM, Factory Connection, Fox, Shoei, Gaerne, DVS, Amsoil Lubricants, Cycra Plastics, Dunlop Tires, EK Chains, Filtron Air Filters, Hinson Clutches, Leatt Brace, One Industries, Pro Circuit, Renthal, Shock Doctor, Showa, TAG Sprockets, Vortex Ignitions, VP Fuels, and Works Connection.
Salt Lake City Lites Main:
1. Trey Canard GEICO Powersports Honda
2. Jake Weimer Kaw
3. Ryan Morais Kaw
4. Ryan Dungey Suz
5. Justin Brayton KTM
6. Chris Blose Hon
7. Jake Moss Hon
8. Kyle Cunningham Kaw
9. Michael Hall Yam
10. Ben Evans Hon
Salt Lake City 450cc Main:
1. James Stewart Yam
2. Chad Reed Suz
3. Davi Millsaps Hon
4. Ryan Villopoto Kaw
5. Andrew Short Hon
6. Josh Grant Yam
7. Kevin Windham GEICO Powersports Honda
8. Matt Boni Hon
9. Tommy Hahn Kaw
10. Ivan Tedesco Hon
