For the third and final time this season, Honda Red Riders returned to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA, Saturday night for round five of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. Following two challenging weekends in a row, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Barcia rebounded to finish third. Teammate Trey Canard left Anaheim third in the championship points chase with one point separating him from second.
450 Race
Following a second place in his heat race, Barcia launched off the gate in the 450 Supercross main event in sixth. He moved his way into fourth, which is where he stayed a majority of the race until the final laps when he made the pass for third. His finish locked down 20 points, moving him into seventh in the overall championship chase. "I am really happy with how tonight went," said Barcia. "This is an awesome way to come back after the last two weekends that I have had. I was riding really good and am looking forward to next weekend."
It was a trying night for Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard, who has consistently posted good results this season. In qualifying practice, he posted the fifth-quickest time and then finished fourth in his heat race. On the opening lap of the main event Canard sat in third but had some misfortune a few laps later and dropped outside the top 10. For the balance of the race he fought his way forward through the field, ultimately finishing seventh. "It was one of those nights that you just need to do your best to keep going," said Canard. "I was riding really cautious in the beginning and stalled my bike. After that I made another mistake. It was a tough night but I need to just look forward and head into next weekend."
TwoTwo Motorsports' Chad Reed battled his way through the field to post a fifth-place finish in the 450 class. Andrew Short rode a solid race aboard his privateer Honda CRF450R to finish a respectable sixth place.
250 Race
Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac was able to rebound after a tough weekend in Oakland to finish third at Anaheim, moving him into second overall in the championship. Tomac won his heat race but got a less-than-desirable start in the main event, forcing him to fight his way up through the field. He made his way into third toward the second half of the race, which is where he finished.
"I got stuck back in the middle of the pack at the beginning of the race, which really hurt me," stated Tomac. "I felt like I was riding good but by the time I made my way into third the leaders were already too far ahead of me. The most important thing is that we got points and moved up in the standings. I need to work on my starts but we still have plenty of time to get back into the lead."
Zach Osborne nailed down a second-place start in his heat race but suffered a hard crash, which sent him into the LCQ to fight for a final transfer spot into the main event. In the main, Osborne again nailed a good start but went down twice during the 15-lap race to ultimately finish in 10th. "It was a disappointing night for me," said Osborne. "I made it into the main but threw it away again with a few more mistakes. I need to stop making these rookie mistakes."
The Focus: Gearing
Gearing is an important part of bike set up and changes substantially from Supercross to Motocross and sometimes from track to track. According to Trey Canard's mechanic Brent Presnell, "In Supercross we don't normally change the gearing too much from track to track but we typically run shorter gearing, which means putting on a larger rear sprocket. This allows the bike to pull through the gears quicker and is good for tighter tracks. This can vary at places like Daytona, because it isn't set up like a standard Supercross track. In motocross we typically go down two teeth on the rear sprocket to make the gearing taller. This makes each gear pull longer so the bike has a higher top speed versus running shorter gearing."
450 Supercross Class Overall Results
1. Ryan Dungey
2. Davi Millsaps
3. Justin Barcia (Honda)
4. James Stewart
5. Chad Reed (Honda)
6. Andrew Short (Honda)
7. Trey Canard (Honda)
8. Ryan Villopoto
9. Broc Tickle
10. Justin Brayton
450 Supercross Class Championship Points (after 5 of 17 rounds)
1. Davi Millsaps 107
2. Ryan Dungey 93
3. Trey Canard 92
4. Ryan Villopoto 90
5. Chad Reed 81
6. Andrew Short 71
7. Justin Barcia 61
8. James Stewart 56
9. Justin Brayton 53
10. Jake Weimer 48
250 Supercross West Class Overall Results
1. Ken Roczen
2. Martin Davalos
3. Eli Tomac (Honda)
4. Kyle Cunningham
5. Jason Anderson
6. Travis Baker
7. Joey Savatgy
8. Austin Politelli
9. Max Anstie
10. Zach Osborne (Honda)
250 Supercross West Class Championship Points (after 5 of 9 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen 116
2. Eli Tomac 96
3. Cole Seely 89
4. Martin Davalos 70
5. Jason Anderson 68
6. Zach Osborne 68
7. Kyle Cunningham 67
8. Christian Craig 54
9. Joey Savatgy 52
10. Jessy Nelson 49
About Honda
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. was established in 1959 and is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and side-by-sides in the U.S. The American Honda Motorcycle Division is responsible for the sales, marketing, and operational activities for these products through authorized Honda dealers. For more information on Honda products, go to www.powersports.honda.com.
About Muscle Milk
Muscle Milk® Ready-to-Drink is a protein-enhanced functional beverage that promotes workout recovery, lean muscle growth, and sustained energy. Muscle Milk takes the guesswork out of high performance nutrition, delivering a precise blend of premium proteins, complex carbohydrates, functional fats, vitamins & minerals. CytoSport™, the maker of Muscle Milk®, is among the largest sport nutrition protein beverage companies in the U.S. and offers a complete line of protein-enhanced powders, shakes and bars. Muscle Milk® was named Ready-to-Drink Beverage of the Year by bodybuilding.com, Best Functional Beverage and Beverage of the Year by BevNet and Company of the Year by Beverage Forum presented by Beverage Marketing Corporation and Beverage World.
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