Honda Red Riders Victorious at San Diego Supercross

February 21, 2011 3:45pm

Torrance, CA: For the second week in a row, the Honda Red Riders dominated the AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship competition, winning both the San Diego Supercross and Supercross Lites West classes. In torrential weather conditions TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed won the Supercross event, taking his first victory of the season aboard his Honda CRF450R, while GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac recorded his first-ever win in the Lites West series aboard his CRF250R.

Heavy rain and strong winds invaded San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday, February 19 creating a mud filled round seven Supercross event. Despite the conditions, American Honda Racing’s Trey Canard put in a solid performance aboard his Honda CRF450R finishing second in his heat race before going on to finish one spot shy of the podium in fourth in the main event. Canard started quickly in the main and moved into the number two spot behind Reed on the opening lap. On lap three, Canard made a pass on Reed that stuck moving him into the lead. On lap six, however, Canard slipped in the wet, handing the lead back to Reed. Losing several spots in the fall, Canard retaliated working his way back up to second by lap 15 only to be tripped up in the mud the following lap. Relinquishing three spots this time, Canard kept chipping away right up to the checkers, regaining a spot to finish in fourth.

“I’m bummed yet happy all at the same time,” said Canard. “I bummed because I really thought I was going to win the race tonight yet happy with my bike set-up and the way it handled tonight in the incredibly wet and slippery track conditions. It was definitely gnarly out there—big ruts and very slippery. I’m also pumped that I managed to get a great start and be among the top five rounding the first turn. I put myself in a good position from the start to be up front. My fourth place result doesn’t really reflect how hard I worked tonight and how well I actually rode. But considering I fell twice, I’m happy with fourth.”

After grabbing the holeshot, Reed rode a smart race out front, leading 17 of 20-laps aboard his CRF450R en route to capturing his first victory of the season for his TwoTwo Motorsports team. Reed’s win was his sixth San Diego Supercross victory and he now takes over first on the all-time win list in San Diego, surpassing Supercross legend Jeremy McGrath’s five win record.

“In the main I got the holeshot and put myself in the right position to take full advantage of my start,” said Reed. “I was riding a little tight, a little bit conservative, when Trey passed me. He showed me some decent lines to follow while out front and I took it from there once he went down. It was a shame that Trey crashed because it would have been great to see Honda go one-two on the podium tonight. Still, it’s a great feeling to get this win; I’m proud to have pulled this victory off.”

GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham had a tough night, colliding with another rider and suffering damage to his front brake caliper that knocked him out of the race.

In the Supercross Lites West competition, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac took it to the top to score his first-ever Supercross Lites win after coming close on several occasions this season. Aboard his Honda CRF250R, Tomac nailed the holeshot and pulled away to a commanding lead early on. By lap five, the Supercross rookie had already begun to lap riders and by the race’s end had established over a 10 second lead on the second place.

“I got a great start in the main,” said Tomac. “I was able to pull a good gap over everyone during the first five laps and it wasn’t long until I was lapping riders. The conditions were tough; it was slick out there and it was very much a one-line track. It feels amazing to get my first win and I hope to get many more wins in the future.”

Teammate Jimmy DeCotis put in a solid performance aboard his GEICO Honda CRF250R scoring his best result of the season in fifth overall. Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oils/Honda’s Cole Seely was among the top contenders all night, and he finished just shy of the podium in fourth.

Supercross Lites West Main Event

1. Eli Tomac (Honda)

2. Tyla Rattray

3. Broc Tickle

4. Cole Seely (Honda)

5. James DeCotis (Honda)

6. Josh Hansen

7. Ken Roczen

8. Ben Evans

9. Ryan Morais

10. Kyle Cunningham

Supercross Lites West Points (after 6 of 9 rounds)