Trey Canard proved his riding ability in 2008 by winning the Supercross Lites East championship in his rookie campaign. Saturday night in San Francisco, the 19-year-old Lites rider showed he could handle the action out west as well by winning his first race of the year at AT&T Park.
The victory extended an impressive streak for Canard’s GEICO Powersports Honda team, which has now placed a rider on the podium at all four races in the 2010 Monster Energy Series. As the season reaches the quarter mark, Canard is a solid second in the 250 West Standings.
Trey Canard Speaks…
“This felt so good,” said Canard, who is recovering from a foot injury sustained two weeks ago in Phoenix. “It was like a weight off my shoulders. I’m just so thankful; it’s been a rough go to get this, and that made it awesome.
“I had a good start tonight. I just put my head down the first few laps and when I realized I had a decent lead, I kind of got nervous. But I was able to hold on. I built on last week, I just kept doing everything I could, and it paid off.”
Canard expertly answered the numerous challenges of incoming points leader Jake Weimer, who ended up second in the main event, and managed to gain a few valuable points on the tricky racetrack.
The racing surface played a role from the start of the day as heavy rain had soaked AT&T Park Friday night. The soft dirt was quickly riddled with braking bumps and ruts, but the GEICO Powersports Honda team seemed mostly unfazed by the conditions with all three Honda team riders performing well in their respective practice sessions.
In the Supercross Lites heat race, Canard and Wharton both started strong with Canard the quickest of the six-lap test. Wharton barely trailed him until lap four, when he crashed and unfortunately could only muster a return to 10th. For the third race in a row, Wharton was faced with having earn a spot in the main event via the Last Chance Qualifier. Once again, the young rider channeled his frustration in the critical LCQ, got the holeshot, and quickly pulled away from the pack, easily garnering the first of the two remaining spots for the main event.
It just wasn’t Wharton’s day, however, as struggles early in the main event relegated him to the back of the pack. He fought to pick up the pace and began making headway, but simply ran out of laps and finished 13th.
The breakneck pace of the 2010 season leaves no time to rest as the tour now heads to San Diego for next Saturday’s round five event.
