Honda Up Front At Washougal

July 26, 2010, 1:44pm

Torrance, CA: The Honda Red Riders took on round eight of the 2010 AMA Motocross Championship at Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, WA on Saturday, July 24, and Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short and Kevin Windham impressed the crowd by running up front aboard their CRF450R race machines while GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard scored the trifecta in taking his third-straight overall 250-class victory aboard his CRF250R.

In moto one, Short pulled off the holeshot and led Honda’s charge through the first turn with teammate Kevin Windham and GEICO Powersports Honda’s Brett Metcalfe hot in tow. Short kept control out front until a series of small errors on lap five shifted the Honda racer into the number two spot where he remained until the race’s end. The start of the second moto mirrored the first with Short nabbing the holeshot—his eighth holeshot this season—and racing away to an early lead before surrendering a spot at the midway point. Short’s 2-2 results put him second overall for the round. Davi Millsaps’ replacement Windham was fast out of the start gate and was up front banging bars with the frontrunners early on in both motos until the veteran racer gave up a few spots to go 9-9 and end the round seventh overall.

"The Honda Red Bull Racing team really has my race bike dialed in for getting awesome starts," said Short. "The team did an amazing job and I had a lot of speed this weekend. I get great starts in almost every race and I’m quick to pull a good lead but I need to find that extra something within me to hang on out front until the very end. I absolutely love Washougal and this is one of those tracks that I really look forward to racing every year."

In other 450-class action, Metcalfe scored his third overall podium of the season by going 3-5 to finish the day third overall. Launching to a solid first-moto effort aboard his GEICO Powersports Honda CRF450R, Metcalfe later put in a heroic effort to rally back from 25th place in moto two to take the checkers in fifth spot, earning him a spot on the overall podium the hard way. Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Ben Townley was up front in the thick of the action in moto one when he crashed hard while negotiating the whoops. The CRF450R racer bruised his shoulder in the fall and was not able to participate in the second moto but is expected to be back racing at round nine in three weeks’ time.

In the 250 class, GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard absolutely dominated the competition, grabbing both holeshots on the day and leading every lap of racing to successfully clinch his third-straight overall victory. Aboard his CRF250R, the likeable Honda racer was unstoppable out front, setting a blistering pace and putting solid gaps between himself and his nearest competitors.

"I struggled at the start of the season to get everything figured out but things have really started to come together now," said Canard. "I’m in a really good place mentally, which I think has made all the difference, and my goal with four rounds to go is to stay out front and earn as many points as I can by winning motos."

Blake Wharton put in a solid performance aboard his GEICO Powersports Honda CRF250R going 5-4 to end the round fourth overall. Teammate Eli Tomac fared well going 7-9 to finish seventh overall while Justin Barcia finished in 16th position (32-10).

450 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Ryan Dungey (1-1)
2. Andrew Short, Honda (2-2)
3. Brett Metcalfe, Honda (3-5)
4. Tommy Hahn (7-3)
5. Nick Wey (10-6)
6. Ryan Sipes (5-11)
7. Kevin Windham, Honda (9-9)
8. Kyle Chisholm (8-10)
9. Dan Reardon (12-7)
10. Kyle Cunningham (11-8)

450 Class Championship Standings
1. Ryan Dungey 368
2. Andrew Short 273
3. Brett Metcalfe 257
4. Josh Grant 238
5. Ben Townley 223
6. Mike Alessi 219
7. Chad Reed 204
8. Ryan Sipes 166
9. Kyle Chisholm 158
10. Kyle Regal 157

250 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Trey Canard, Honda (1-1)
2. Christophe Pourcel (2-2)
3. Tyla Rattray (4-3)
4. Blake Wharton, Honda (5-4)
5. Dean Wilson (6-6)
6. Jake Weimer (3-11)
7. Eli Tomac, Honda (7-9)
8. Tommy Searle (10-7)
9. Vince Friese, (12-12)
10. Martin Davalos, (22-5)

250 Class Championship Standings
1. Christophe Pourcel 340
2. Trey Canard 302
3. Dean Wilson 294
4. Tyla Rattray 286
5. Justin Barcia 212
6. Blake Wharton 209
7. Broc Tickle 209
8. Eli Tomac 200
9. Jake Weimer 195
10. Martin Davalos 163