Canard doubles up in Delmont

DELMONT, Pa. -- GEICO Powersports Honda rider Trey Canard swept both 250cc motos at Saturday's Steel City National to pull within seven points of the AMA Motocross championship points lead with one race left on the 2010 schedule. The impressive outing yielded Canard's fifth overall title of the outdoor season, by far the most of any rider in his class.
 
Canard shared the spotlight with his GEICO Powersports teammates Kevin Windham and Brett Metcalfe, who finished 1-2 on the day in the 450cc category. Windham won the first moto and was runner-up in the second, while Metcalfe bagged second and third-place finishes.
 
"Today was good, and honestly, coming in, I thought it was going to be a bad weekend," Canard said. "My flights getting here were all messed up and we didn't arrive until like 9 o'clock last night. But I had a nice Italian dinner and it made it all better.
 
"Right from the start today we were good. My first practice was strong. The second one was even better. The first moto was just awesome. I was really stoked with the way I rode. I was just solid. It was close the whole race and (points leader Christophe Pourcel) was right behind me the whole time but I kept him there."
 
Thirteen points behind Christophe Pourcel at the start of the event, Canard fought hard to hold off the defending series champion in both motos.
 
Showing incredible sportsmanship in post-race interviews, Canard asked the rowdy crowd not to boo Pourcel, a French native, but instead applaud and enjoy the incredible racing between the two riders that has taken place over the course of the last several events.
 
"The second moto I was so tense the first half," Canard said. "We got through to the front and (Pourcel) showed me his front wheel once or twice and that motivated me to find that last breath and ride it out."
 
A mid-season replacement for injured Honda pro Davi Millsaps, Windham's moto win and overall title were his first of the outdoor season. He led seven laps on the day.
 
"I practiced great and stayed near the front either in first, second or third, so we got off to a great start and went from there," Windham said. "Winning the first moto was fun. It was a great race going back and forth with my old teammate Metty. We were all giving each other some ribbing all day and that made it a lot of fun."
 
Metcalfe's hard riding moved him around Honda rider Andrew Short for second in the championship standings. He is now five points ahead of Short with one race left. The 450cc title has been secured by Ryan Dungey, who won the day's second moto.
 
"Awesome day," Metcalfe said. "To pick up a second and a third and gain all those points is exactly what we needed. The bike was strong. Everything was really clicking for me today."
 
Team riders Eli Tomac, Justin Barcia, and Blake Wharton remained in the mix with top-10 finishes of their own. Tomac finished fourth in Moto 1 and fifth in Moto 2 for an overall ranking of fourth. Barcia rebounded from a 10th-place result in the first moto to a sixth-place finish in Moto 2 to end the event sixth. Wharton was seventh and ninth in the two races, which equaled a seventh-place overall result.
 
The championship will be decided next Saturday at Pala Raceway outside San Diego.