The Honda Red Riders dominated the Houston SuperCross with wins in both the SuperCross and SuperCross Lites East classes. American Honda Racing's Trey Canard won the SuperCross race, scoring his first-ever SuperCross-class win in his rookie season aboard his Honda CRF450R, while GEICO Honda's Justin Barcia came out on top in the Lites East season opener aboard his CRF250R.
Canard got away to a good start in the main event and managed to stay clear of a pile-up in the first turn that claimed a number of top riders, including Honda rider Chad Reed. Veteran racer Kevin Windham grabbed the holeshot aboard his GEICO Honda CRF450R and raced to an early lead, while Canard set about chasing him down from the number four spot. Riding a strong race, Canard moved into second place on lap six before inheriting the lead from Windham, who crashed on lap 11. Once out front, Canard held off reigning champ Ryan Dungey to record the first-ever SuperCross victory of his young career.
"I'm so excited," said Canard. "Winning a SuperCross is something I have dreamed of doing my entire life and to finally get the win feels amazing. It was a crazy race full of ups and downs for a lot of riders, so to be on top at the end is something I'm really happy about. I can't thank the American Honda Racing team enough for all their support and for having faith in me. Seeing how much hard work and dedication everyone on the team puts in each and every week, I'm just glad I could give them the win they deserved. I'm also incredibly grateful to my family for all their unwavering support. The win puts me third in the series points, which is a great spot to be in at this early stage in the season."
After grabbing the holeshot, Windham rode a solid race out front until he crashed hard on lap 11, knocking himself out of the race. TwoTwo Motorsports Chad Reed was a casualty of the first-turn pile-up and was forced to launch a come-from-behind attack aboard his Honda CRF450R. Despite rounding the opening lap in 17th position, Reed went to work picking off riders one by one, ultimately finishing in sixth.
In the SuperCross Lites East competition, GEICO Honda's Justin Barcia got his season off to a flying start by winning the opening round of the Lites East series. Aboard his Honda CRF250R, Barcia led 13 of the 15 laps in the main en route to clinching his first win of the season. Teammate Blake Wharton moved into the number three spot on the opening lap and was in podium contention with two laps to go when he was struck hard by another rider and went down. Losing several spots in the crash, Wharton recovered to finish in sixth. Fellow Honda racers Lance Vincent and Alex Martin got their season campaigns away to solid starts with Vincent finishing in eighth and Martin rounding out the10th spot. |
February 12, 2011
