Cannon: “I’m happy to get an overall before heading back to Australia”

The first moto Cannon did not get a great start and was only in eighth on the first lap. She was only able to make her way up to fifth by the finish, her worst moto finish in WMX so far. The WMX motos are short, but also there were new contenders in the mix with rookie Mayla Herrick and FIM WMX Champ Lotta Van Drunen going 1-2. But Charli was able to regroup for Saturday’s moto and got out to the early lead, only to have the race red flagged when race one winner, Herrick, went down in the first turn and was hauled off by the medics. But Charli has been doing this long enough to know she had to put it behind her and regroup for the restart.

“Yeah, that was a little bit frustrating because I had heard that a lot of the top girls didn’t really get the best start and I got a good one and checked out quite a few seconds that first lap. When I went over the finish line and saw the red flag, I saw the gap and I was like, ‘Damn, that hurts a little bit, I’ve got to do this all over again.’ But I just had to try to stay calm and try and execute a start like I did in that first one. And I did so I can’t complain but yeah, it was a bit stressful.”

Charli was third off of the restart and quickly made her way around Taylah McCutcheon for second, which is where she stayed for most of the moto. Then on the second to last lap Lachlan Turner made another mistake going down in a corner. This is the third race in a row where she has gone down while leading. Charli was close enough to take over the lead.

“You never really know what’s going to happen in a race so if you’re not really at the speed as the top person, I feel like I just needed to stay as close as possible in case something does happen, I am able to capitalize on it. Which is what I did. It was on the second to last lap, so I knew if I just put my head down and just tried to stay in the lead. I just try to stay as close to the front riders as possible, and it happened on a weekend where I probably wasn’t performing the best.”

Now the WMX here in the states will take an eight-week break, but Charli will be flying home to compete in the MXW series in Australia where she is a four-time champion.

“I’m happy to get an overall before heading back to Australia, but I know that I still have a lot of work to do. I am not completely happy with that, I feel like it all played in my favor even with not great riding.” Charli continued, “I go back to Australia on Sunday and just try to stick to my schedule that I have over here as much as I can, just ride during the weeks. And then we have our next Australian championship in three weeks I’m pretty sure. Finish the last three rounds of that and then once that’s over, I’ll fly back and continue the last three rounds of the championship over here.”

It will be a busy summer (and winter down under) for Charli racing two different series on two different continents. But she is heading into the break with momentum on her side, and she will be able to spend some time at home and racing her home tracks. Will all of this extra travel and racing benefit Charli when the series returns at Unadilla?