Just below the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland sits Budds Creek Motocross Park, which hosted round five of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series this past Saturday. The Honda Red Riders had quite a showing with Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard capturing his first podium finish of the season with a third overall. Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda rider Eli Tomac took second overall for the day with 5-1 scores, allowing him to move six points closer to taking over the lead in the championship chase.
450 Race
It was an exciting day for Canard who secured his best overall finish of the season. The day started off well for Canard as he posted the third-quickest qualifying time in practice. Then, despite less-than-desirable starts in both motos, Canard rode impressively well to lock down third overall with 6-4 scores.
"I'm super thankful to be on the podium," said Canard. "You always want to do it by actually finishing 3rd but I'll take it and try to continue to build off of it. Moto 1 was okay; both motos were battered with bad starts but Moto 2 I felt like the bike worked good and I rode much better than Moto 1. The track was difficult but a lot of fun and enjoyable."
Teammate Justin Barcia posted the fifth-quickest qualifying time in practice before finishing a solid fourth place in moto one. In the second moto, Barcia rode a respectable race, advancing from 28th to eighth place to earn fifth overall for the day.
"The day wasn't the best," Barcia said. "I got an OK start in moto one and was able to finish fourth, but in moto two I got a really bad start and got taken out on the first lap. I was pretty far back in the pack and just rode the best I could to get up towards the front. I made it up to eighth, which was good enough for fifth overall. Not where I want to be but it could have been worse."
Malcolm Stewart, who is standing in for the injured Christian Craig on the Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda team, had a breakthrough weekend, finishing ninth in the first moto and third in the second moto to take fourth overall on his Honda CRF450R.
250 Race
Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac was slow off the line in the first moto, sitting in 14th after the opening lap. He put together a hard charge throughout the entire 30-minute plus two-lap race to finish fifth. In moto two, Tomac again started the race outside the top 10 but was able to make the pass into the lead late in the race. He maintained his position out front, taking the moto win and second overall for the day.
"If I could figure out how to have better results in the first moto every weekend I'd really be onto something," Tomac said. "I really learned some good lines in the first race and used those in Moto 2. I just had a real good flow and I was able to get out front and just check out. I like to push early and get a big lead if I can so I can take it a little easier in the second half and limit my mistakes. It worked out great today."
Teammate Wil Hahn made a valiant return after missing the first four rounds due to a broken hand he sustained at the Supercross season finale in Las Vegas. Hahn came out swinging aboard his Honda CRF250R, nailing down the Motorcycle-Superstore.com holeshot in both motos before logging 6-5 finishes for a fifth overall for the day. "I was surprisingly calm in both races and really felt good," Hahn said. "The pace was really fast. I'm impressed with these guys. I did get a little tired at the end of both motos but that's to be expected. It takes a few races at this pace to get back in race shape."
It was a trying first moto for GEICO Honda's Zach Osborne, who went down a few times throughout the race to finish 17th. Osborne was able to rebound in the second moto with a hard-fought fourth-place finish, landing himself ninth overall for the day.
"I'm pretty pleased with the day," said Osborne. "I passed a lot of guys. I liked the lines I was taking and felt like I could ride with the top guys. I just got caught up early in the first race and that cost me. [Cooper] Webb went down right in front of me in the first turn and I didn't have anywhere to go. The second moto was much better, obviously."
The final Muscle Milk-backed GEICO Honda rider, Justin Bogle, finished a respectable 14th overall with 19-8 scores.
The Focus: Trey Canard's Honda CRF450R
Each rider has his own preferences when it comes to the way the bike is set up. Each weekend, Trey Canard's mechanic Brent Presnell is responsible for making sure that his Honda CRF450R is race ready.
"Starting from the top, Trey runs the Renthal 998-bend bars with the half-waffle soft-compound grips," explains Presnell. "He doesn't run anything too crazy placement wise but he is pretty particular about having them where he likes them. He runs his bars a little back and his levers down. We run a standard seat with a bump and grip cover because the bike has a lot of torque so it helps keep Trey from sliding back too far on the bike. We run the Showa Air Fork SFF, which is new this year. Trey likes his suspension to feel plush but not too soft so he doesn't bottom out; we are constantly testing and trying to evolve. Next we have the Yoshimura dual exhaust, which Trey really likes. He is a huge fan of the dual exhaust going back to when it was on the CRF250R and he won his championship in 2008. It is important to make sure your rider is as comfortable as possible on his bike to give him the best opportunity for success."
450 Class Overall Results
1. Ryan Dungey 2-1
2. Ryan Villopoto 1-2
3. Trey Canard (Honda) 6-4
4. Malcolm Stewart (Honda) 9-3
5. Justin Barcia (Honda) 4-8
6. Justin Brayton 7-7
7. Broc Tickle 10-5
8. Jake Weimer 8-10
9. Phil Nicoletti 15-6
10. Andrew Short 12-9
450 Class Championship Points (after 5 of 12 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto 240
2. Ryan Dungey 224
3. Justin Barcia 179
4. Trey Canard 153
5. Mike Alessi 136
6. James Stewart 122
7. Tyla Rattray 95
8. Ryan Sipes 95
9. Jake Weimer 94
10. Broc Tickle 93
250 Class Overall Results
1. Blake Baggett 1-2
2. Eli Tomac (Honda) 5-1
3. Marvin Musquin 2-7
4. Ken Roczen 3-6
5. Wil Hahn (Honda) 6-5
6. Jason Anderson 4-11
7. Darryn Durham 13-3
8. Kyle Cunningham 7-9
9. Zach Osborne (Honda) 17-4
10. Justin Hill 10-10
250 Class Championship Points (after 5 of 12 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen 220
2. Eli Tomac 211
3. Marvin Musquin 199
4. Blake Baggett 188
5. Zach Osborne 149
6. Jason Anderson 128
7. Jeremy Martin 109
8. Kyle Cunningham 107
9. Justin Bogle 104
10. Cooper Webb 99
About Honda
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About Muscle Milk
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