Team Honda HRC was pleased to welcome back Trey Canard at round eight of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. An injury had sidelined the Oklahoman for the previous four races, but Canard put together two solid rides aboard his factory CRF450R, scoring sixth overall with 6-6 finishes.
In moto one, Canard got a slow jump off the line, rounding the first turn outside the top 10, but he quickly began working his way forward, moving into seventh by the halfway point. He would climb one more position by the end of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap race, taking the checkered flag in sixth. After getting a similar start in moto two, Canard worked his way into fifth and stayed there for much of the race. With two laps remaining, he made a mistake while being pressured by another rider, causing him to fall one spot and again end the moto in sixth.
Trey Canard:
Today wasn't too bad. I didn't ride as well as I wanted to, but it's hard to miss a few weeks and come back right where you left off. I'm just really happy to be back at the races, so I can't be too bummed. I didn't get the greatest start in either moto and just had to work my way forward. In the second moto, I was in fifth but made a mistake in a section, twisting my ankle pretty hard and letting Justin [Barcia] by me. I just need to keep pushing forward, and I'm excited for the rest of the season.
Dan Betley - Team Manager:
It was really good to see Trey back on the bike and out there racing for us. Ideally we would like to have been up battling for the podium, but for his first race back I'm happy with sixth. I think it will just take brushing off the dust and getting him back into race mode. These guys are at such a high level; being off the bike for even a couple weeks can cause them to lose an edge on the competition. We made a pretty big adjustment between motos, changing the fork setting to something we'd been working on with the other guys that he hadn't tried, and it worked out better for him. We'll start there for next weekend and continue fine-tuning a few things.
Brent Presnell - Canard's Mechanic:
I think today was a pretty positive first race back. Trey went 6-6, which is kind of where he left off, so it isn't too bad. He's been riding the past two weeks, but it's always hard to replicate a race pace at home while practicing, so I think it will just take him a little time to get back into it.