Canard at top of the podium in RedBud

Written by Adrian Sunday, 04 July 2010 19:48

BUCHANAN, Mich. (July 3) -- On the strength of his win in the second 250cc moto of the day, GEICO Powersports Honda rider Trey Canard won his class Saturday at the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship RedBud National.

"I'm so, so happy to win that," Canard said. "It's just a relief for me. I'm just so thankful that it happened.

"I was having a real hard time a few weeks ago and my faith, friends and family got me through it."

Canard finished fourth in the first moto and had the same average finish as Dean Wilson, who finished third and second. However, it was Canard's win that made the ultimate difference. The key momenywas Canard's pass of Wilson late in the second moto, which sealed both the moto and overall victory.

"I knew Wilson was riding really hard," Canard said. "I wasn't sure he could keep that pace because he was really pushing it. I just tried to stay calm and make sure I made it through the moto.

"I wanted to make sure I made the pass at the right time. I was a little aggressive, but I needed that for myself. It needed to happen then or not at all."

The victory is the first of the outdoor season for Canard and the GEICO Powersports Honda team. Canard, who pulled to within seven points of third place in the season standings, said that other than the start, there were no real changes between motos.

"I stayed the same mostly, I think I was just further forward," Canard said. "I was better at the start and gave myself a better shot at winning the race."

All the GEICO Powersports riders improved from Moto 1 to Moto 2.

Justin Barcia finished fifth and third in his 250 motos to wind up fourth overall. He nearly captured second place in that second race during the moto's waning minutes.

"Considering how my day went, everything ended awesome," Barcia said. "In practice I cased it on LaRocco's Leap and hurt myself pretty good. So I start the day with a bum ankle, bum knee and scrapes all the way down my back.

"I did the best I could. I charged all day. I could have done a little better, but I gave it my all and I'm pretty happy with the results."

Barcia wasn't the only one who ended the day with a few wounds to tend to. Blake Wharton suffered a busted lip after a rock from the track came up under his helmet and hit him in the mouth early in the second moto.

Wharton rallied to finish fourth in the second moto, two places higher than his first moto, and he ended fifth overall on the day.

"In practice my times weren't great, but I knew if you got a good start you can get up there and run," Wharton said. "I figured some things out before the second moto, got a better start and passed guys right away."

Rookie Eli Tomac finished 10th overall on the day after finished of 12th and ninth, respectively.

"I'm physically fine and ready to go," Tomac said. "But my starts just stunk again, that's the problem. It's all about the start. In the second moto, I got back to my real race mode and my lap times were close to those of the guys up front, so I was stoked about that."

On the 450cc side, GEICO Powersports Honda rider Brett Metcalfe finished fifth and fourth for an overall finish of fifth on the day. He did slip to third in the season standings, but he's only three points out of second.

"The first moto, I got a good start, but I chose the wrong setup," Metcalfe said. "Once I settled into my groove, my groove was off. I couldn't get into the flow of the track.

"We came back and made changes, going back to a setup I was more familiar with. I went out to the second moto with a clear mind and everything was much better."

The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship takes a week off before resuming is schedule on July 17 at the Spring Creek National in Milleville, Minn.

-source: Powersports Honda

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