A massive crowd was in attendance this past Fourth of July weekend at the famous RedBud National in Buchanan, MI, for round seven of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series. Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard and Justin Barcia had a respectable showing, finishing fourth and fifth overall for the day. Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac captured another podium appearance aboard his CRF250R with his 1-2 scores.
450 Race
In the first moto, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard launched off the line to a solid second-place start. On the sixth lap a slight mistake caused Canard to fall outside the top 10 but he was able to work his way back up to fifth, which is where he finished. He got a less-than-desirable start in the second moto and was able to work his way from 14th to sixth.
"The day could have been a lot worse," Canard said. "It started pretty mediocre and I had some rough moments but also had some good moments. If it wasn't for the good start in the first moto I probably would have had more trouble because I wasn't very comfortable with the decision I made for my bike set up. We made changes before the second moto and it felt way better. I didn't get the best start and got caught in a bit of a pileup halfway through the first lap but I felt like I was riding really good. Overall it went pretty well and I am looking forward to Washougal."
Justin Barcia came out strong on his CRF450R, laying down the second-quickest qualifying time in practice. In moto one, a first-turn crash left him in 24th after the completion of the opening lap. However, throughout the 30-minute plus two-lap race he moved towards the front with an impressive charge, advancing to ninth. "I wasn't on the podium so I am not too pumped on that but I am going to keep working hard and eventually we'll get there," said Barcia. "The first moto was tough. I crashed in the first turn and had to fight my way back, which definitely wasn't what I wanted. I was able to make a good charge and get into the top 10. I didn't get the best start in the second moto either and worked my way up to fourth. I'm going to work on some things over the break and try to get some rest before heading to Washougal."
250 Race
Muscle Milk-backed GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac finished second overall for the day with his 1-2 scores. Tomac dominated the first moto with ease, moving into the lead on the first lap and riding the remainder of the 30-minute plus two-lap race unchallenged. In the second moto, Tomac was charging through the field when he went down in the back sand section, causing him to lose multiple spots. After remounting his Honda CRF250R, Tomac put together an impressive come-from-behind performance, slicing through the competition to finish second overall. Heading into the one-week break Tomac remains a mere seven points behind in the championship chase.
"I got off to a really great start today," said Tomac. "I was just having a lot of fun out there. This is a multi-line track, so you can get pretty creative. I made an unfortunate mistake in the second moto when I was trying to make the pass on my teammate Zach Osborne. I went a little too fast into the sand section and lost my balance. I wish we could have closed in on the points gap a little more but we didn't lose any ground so that is a good thing."
In moto one, teammate Zach Osborne sat in sixth after the completion of the first lap but struggled with arm pump throughout the race, causing him to lose a few positions and finish in 10th. Osborne was able to rally back in the second moto to finish in fifth place, landing him fifth overall for the day. "I have been getting arm pump really bad in the first motos but luckily haven't had too much of a problem in the second race," explained Osborne. "I lost a good chance at a podium today but the bike was really fast and I'm pretty on pace with the top guys. I am looking forward to this break to rest and regroup before Washougal."
The last two Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda riders, Justin Bogle and Wil Hahn, finished 10th and 11th overall for the day. In the first moto Bogle went down early but was able to reclaim a few spots to finish 12th. He followed it up with a solid seventh-place finish in moto two. Since his return a few weeks earlier, Hahn has continued to impress everyone with his start. He launched off the line in moto one to another Motorcycle-Superstore.com holeshot award, allowing him to maintain his holeshot points lead toward the end-of-year bonus. He finished ninth and 12th for 11th overall for the day.
The Focus: Team Honda Muscle Milk Manager Dan Betley
Team Manager is a crucial role within the race team, and Team Honda Muscle Milk just recently appointed Dan Betley to the position at the beginning of the 2013 Motocross season. Betley successfully filled the role during the 2013 Supercross season as he led the team to two victories and six additional podiums.
"I started with team Honda in 1989 as race mechanic for Jeff Stanton and from there moved in-house to do engine development," explained Bentley. "First I started with 125 development then as the four strokes came in I moved to 250 engine development, then to 450s and now to team manager. I worked with Stanton through the 1994 season, then worked with Steve Lamson and indirectly with Ricky Carmichael. The transition into team manager has been fairly easy; it is just an extension of what I have already been doing. Now I am working more with upper management and the riders and staff on a different level. Now it is not strictly technical but I have had to learn to adapt to the different personalities on the team, and have had to be more involved with sponsors. It is still a whole learning experience and I have some big shoes to fill so I feel like I am just trying to learn as much as I can and trying to get the respect from the team and riders. My main goal is to hopefully bring this team back to winning championships."
For more on Dan Betley and the story of how he moved through the ranks to be recently awarded the new title and responsibilities of Team Manager, check out his five question video. http://youtu.be/ayFTGmvRWjc
450 Class Overall Results
1. Ryan Villopoto 1-1
2. James Stewart 2-2
3. Josh Grant 3-5
4. Trey Canard (Honda) 5-6
5. Justin Barcia (Honda) 9-4
6. Justin Brayton 6-8
7. Malcolm Stewart (Honda) 8-7
8. Andrew Short 4-12
9. Jake Weimer 7-13
10. Broc Tickle 11-11
450 Class Championship Points (after 7 of 12 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto 333
2. Ryan Dungey 291
3. Justin Barcia 249
4. Trey Canard 200
5. James Stewart 184
6. Mike Alessi 170
7. Andrew Short 137
8. Broc Tickle 135
9. Josh Grant 131
10. Jake Weimer 131
250 Class Overall Results
1. Ken Roczen 2-1
2. Eli Tomac (Honda) 1-2
3. Jeremy Martin 4-3
4. Marvin Musquin 3-4
5. Zach Osborne (Honda) 10-5
6. Kyle Cunningham 7-8
7. Cooper Webb 6-9
8. Cole Seely (Honda) 5-11
9. Blake Baggett 8-10
10. Justin Bogle (Honda) 12-7
250 Class Championship Points (after 7 of 12 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen 312
2. Eli Tomac 305
3. Marvin Musquin 260
4. Blake Baggett 247
5. Zach Osborne 212
6. Jason Anderson 176
7. Jeremy Martin 162
8. Kyle Cunningham 158
9. Justin Bogle 145
10. Cooper Webb 140
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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