Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Canard fifth, seely seventh at Glen Helen national
giugno 07, 2016 - Honda Racing

Canard fifth, seely seventh at Glen Helen national

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

Jun 6, 2016

Round two of the AMA #promotocross championship at #glenhelenraceway was another positive event for Team #honda HRC, as Trey Canard scored fifth overall with 7-4 finishes, while teammate Cole Seely carded seventh with 5-10 marks. In the day's opening #moto, Canard secured the holeshot aboard his CRF450R before dropping into second. On the following lap, Canard slid out going around the banked Talladega turn, falling back to 15th. He spent the remainder of the race charging forward before crossing the line in seventh. In #moto two, Canard nailed another solid start, completing the first lap in sixth. The Oklahoman moved into third a few laps in but eventually relinquished the position and settled into fourth, which is where he would finish.

Seely had also enjoyed a solid start in #moto 1, not far behind his teammate in sixth. On the second lap, he moved into third but subsequently slipped back two positions to fifth. He settled into a rhythm and maintained that position to the checkered flag. In #moto two, Seely was 10th off the line but went down at the bottom of Mt. Saint Helens, losing several spots. He remounted in 15th and spent the remainder of the race trying to regain as many positions as possibly, ultimately crossing the line in 10th.

NOTES

  • On Friday, Team #honda HRC's Trey Canard and Cole Seely joined GEICO Honda's #justinbogle, Christian Craig, RJ Hampshire, Jordan Smith and Tristan Charboneau at Malcolm Smith Motorsports in Riverside, California, for a pre-race pit party. Hundreds of fans were on hand to meet their favorite racers and for a chance to win prizes.
  • With many teams based nearby, #glenhelenraceway is a hotspot for testing and practice sessions throughout the season, making it the most familiar track on the circuit for the majority of riders. Despite this, Seely doesn't feel that plays a huge factor in the race. "I'm pretty sure everyone has spun a ton of laps here, especially if they live in California, but the track is so much different for the national that it's not much of an advantage," he explained. "On practice days we don't run all the hills or obstacles, and they prep it completely different for the national."
  • During the morning's timed qualifying practice period, Canard's 2:27.055 lap from the first session was sixth-quickest, while Seely was 10th with 2:28.388.
  • The #honda Red Riders will return to action on June 4 for round 3 of the AMA #promotocross series in Lakewood, Colorado, also known as the Thunder Valley National. On Friday, Team #honda HRC and the GEICO #honda squad will visit Sun Enterprises for an autograph session. 

THE FOCUS: Mastering the Mountains

The Glen Helen track features a number of drastic and challenging elevation changes, the largest of which is Mt. Saint Helens, which could make or break a race. Towering hundreds of feet over the rest of the track, this is a prime opportunity for riders to gain time on the competition, but if they're not careful one mistake could cause them to lose time or worse. "I think it's most important to be patient and not try to be a hero down the hills," Trey Canard said. "If you push it too hard, one small mistake could cost you the race or your season. You want to try to be as smooth as possible and find the right line up and down. Bike setup is also very important but we can't really set the bikes up too much for the hills because you also have to ride them everywhere else."

"There really isn't a huge change made to the bike to adapt to the hills," confirmed Canard's mechanic Brent Presnell. "We're able to test a lot at Glen Helen and although we don't run the full hills on practice days, we're able to keep an eye on things and test some stuff. We know the hills do a number on your forks, so it's important to have a solid setup there."

QUOTES

Trey Canard

There are a lot of good things to pull from today, especially with my starts. I've been searching for it for a long time, so to get the holeshot in #moto one and a top-five start in the second was awesome. It makes me excited for the rest of the year and gives me a lot of hope as I continue to improve. After I got the holeshot, [Ryan] Dungey got around me pretty quick and I just washed out and fell back pretty far. I didn't feel ultra comfortable but I made it back to seventh and we made some good changes for the second race. I got another good start in #moto two and worked up to third at one point but [Eli] Tomac got me. At that point I just decided to ride it out for fourth; the track was really dangerous and I was feeling pretty flat so I just wanted to get out of here safe.

Cole Seely

I'm happy with the day. It was another good first #moto and decent second #moto. I went 5-10 again for seventh overall so that's still good. I'm trying to build in all aspects of my program to become a better outdoor rider, so I'm putting in a lot of work during the week and maybe losing a little energy on the weekend. I'm going to keep pushing though. The first #moto went well. I got off to a good start right behind Trey and got by him when he went down. I passed [Marvin] Musquin for third and ran there for a little bit before getting passed by a couple guys and finishing in fifth. I definitely felt like I rode really well that race. During the second #moto, I got about a 10th place start but crashed a few laps in and got passed by about five guys, so I had to work forward from there. It is what it is but I feel like I'm going to improve each week, and that's ultimately the goal.

Dan Betley: Team Manager

I'm really happy Trey seems to be turning around his starts. In four motos, he has had three solid starts. Now he can go to the line not second-guessing or overthinking it because he knows he's capable of getting good starts. He was riding well today; unfortunately he went down again in the first #moto but he was still able to come back and finish in the top 10. Cole rode well too and is making definite improvements. He's still figuring out the big picture and how he needs to step up to the next level, and I think he's on track. He's working very hard. The track was pretty treacherous in my opinion and a little over the top, but everyone has to ride the same track.

Brent Presnell: Mechanic (Trey Canard)

Today was good! Trey pulled the holeshot in the first #moto and I was so pumped I was ready to just pack it up and go home then! After that he slid out while running second again but he still got up and made a hard charge to finish seventh. He got another good start in the second #moto and finished fourth so it was a solid day overall. I think we're all just happy to get away from Glen Helen with a solid finish and safe.

Rich Simmons: Mechanic (Cole Seely)

It was a good day. I think Cole was a little stronger this week than last week even though it was the same result, so that's the goal, to just keep getting stronger at each race. He's going to get tired and we know that but as long as he keeps building that's what's important. Unfortunately, he didn't get a good start in the second #moto and then went down so I think this week we'll spend some time focusing on how we can improve the second #moto. We learned last week that we should probably soften up the bike for him in the second #moto, and we did that this week, which helped him a lot.


450MX Results
1) Ken Roczen (1-1)
2) Ryan Dungey (2-2)
3) Eli Tomac  (4-4)
4) Jason Anderson (6-3)
5) Trey Canard (7-5)
6) Cole Seely (5-10)
7) Justin Barcia (10-6)
8) Marvin Musquin (9-7)
9) Joshua Grant (8-8)
10) Phillip Nicoletti (11-9)

450MX Championship Points (after 2 of 12 rounds)
1) Ken Roczen 50
2) Ryan Dungey 44
3) Eli Tomac 36
4) Jason Anderson 35
5) Trey Canard 30
6) Cole Seely 27
7) Justin Barcia 26
8) Marvin Musquin 26
9) Joshua Grant 26
10) Phillip Nicoletti 22