Canard Grabs a Podium Spot at Phoenix SX

January 17, 2011, 3:40pm

Torrance, CA- American Honda Racing’s Trey Canard recorded his first podium result of the season at round two of the 2011 AMA Supercross in Phoenix, AZ on Saturday, January 15. Competing in his first full Supercross season for the factory Honda squad, Canard raced his Honda CRF450R® to a third-place finish.

After finishing fifth in his heat race, Canard got away to a mid-pack start in the main and worked his way up to the number three spot by lap seven where he remained until the race’s end, keeping both Chad Reed and defending champ Ryan Dungey at bay. “I’m really happy to score a podium finish so early in the season but I’m not necessarily happy with the way I rode tonight,” said Canard. “There were a couple of sections that I just didn’t nail and with the level of talent in this competition, I can’t be messing sections up. The American Honda Racing team had my bike dialed in and my lap times were pretty good. I’m sure that as the season goes on and as I gain more experience in the Supercross class I will improve.”

Teammate Josh Grant was laying down solid laps on his CRF450R in his heat race when he was struck hard by another rider and went down. Determined to continue, Grant rejoined the competition but had to pull out to seek medical attention for an injured leg. “I’m bummed about getting hurt tonight,” said Grant. “I had my knee evaluated by the trackside Asterisk’s medical crew and X-Ray’s showed it wasn’t broken so that’s good. I’ll have it checked by my doctor at home this week and take it from there.”

Fellow Honda racer, GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham, got away to a good start in the main on his Honda CRF450R and was in fifth spot when he too was caught up in a collision with another racer. The veteran Honda racer suffered damage to his front brake caliper and was forced to withdraw from the race. TwoTwo Motorsports Chad Reed bounced back from a mid-pack start to finish a spot behind Canard in fourth.

In the Supercross Lites West competition, Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda’s Cole Seely raced his Honda CRF250R to fourth overall and teammate Travis Baker nabbed eighth place. GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac put in a solid performance to finish fifth aboard his CRF250R while team newcomer Jimmy Decotis, filling in for injured team member Wil Hahn, took seventh in his debut for the team on his CRF250R.

Supercross Lites Main Event

1. Josh Hansen

2. Broc Tickle

3. Ryan Morais

4. Cole Seely (Honda)

5. Eli Tomac (Honda)

6. Tyla Rattray

7. Jimmy Decotis (Honda)

8. Travis Baker (Honda)

9. Martin Davalos

10. Kyle Cunningham

Supercross Lites West Points (after 2 of 9 rounds)

1. Josh Hansen, 50

2. Broc Tickle, 44

3. Ryan Morais, 35

4. Tyla Rattray, 35

5. Cole Seely, 34

6. Martin Davalos, 30

7. Eli Tomac, 27

8. Travis Baker, 26

9. Kyle Cunningham, 19

10. Ben Evans, 18

11. Nick Paluzzi, 18

Supercross Main Event

1. James Stewart

2. Ryan Villopoto

3. Trey Canard (Honda)

4. Chad Reed (Honda)

5. Ryan Dungey

10. Kyle Regal, Murrieta

Supercross Championship Points (after 2 of 17 rounds)

1. Ryan Villopoto, 47

2. James Stewart, 45

3. Trey Canard, 38

4. Ryan Dungey, 38

5. Chad Reed, 34

6. Brett Metcalfe, 26

7. Andrew Short, 25

8. Kyle Chisholm, 22

9. Ivan Tedesco, 21

10. Justin Brayton, 20

For more information, contact: American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (310) 783-3745.

About Honda

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs, MUVs and personal watercraft in the U.S. American Honda’s Motorcycle Division conducts the sales, marketing and operational activities for these products through authorized Honda dealers. For more information on Honda products, go to powersports.honda.com.