Although Team Honda HRC had its sights set on the podium for AMA Supercross' return to Foxborough after a 26-year absence, the crew was relatively pleased with both Trey Canard and Cole Seely landing in the top 10, with fifth- and seventh-place finishes, respectively.
Following an eighth-place start, Canard worked his way into fifth in the early going and would maintain that position throughout the remainder of the 20-lap main event. It was a tough return to racing for Seely, who had been sidelined for four weeks due to a chipped vertebra. The Californian took the long way to the main event, being forced to qualify through the LCQ. In the finale, he rounded the first turn nearly last and quickly began working his way through the field, ultimately taking the checkered flag in seventh.
NOTES
- Prior to Saturday's action, Team Honda HRC's Trey Canard joined GEICO Honda's Justin Bogle, RJ Hampshire and Malcolm Stewart for an appearance at Big St. Charles Motorsports to hang out with fans and sign autographs at the dealership's annual supercross party.
- AMA Supercross previously ran at Foxborough on three occasions, in 1983, '84 and '90. Honda won all three times, with riders David Bailey topping the first two races and Jean-Michel Bayle the third.
- For the second time this season, riders and teams were on a daytime schedule due to the Foxborough Supercross airing live on the Fox network. The program started four hours earlier than normal, and the racing was completed by 7 p.m.
- Conditions were tough during the timed qualifying sessions, as rain throughout the morning left the track covered in mud. Nevertheless, Canard was fast aboard his CRF450R, securing the second-quickest time at 1:01.813, while Cole Seely was fifth with 1:02.385. As the track dried out throughout the day, times consistently dropped.
- On race day, Seely's mechanic Rich Simmons and Bogle's mechanic Grant Hutchinson, who are both graduates of Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, met with a group of students from the local campus to provide a glimpse into the life of a factory technician. Later that evening, Simmons would be awarded with the $1000 MMI Top Tech award for his swift work on the number 14 machine after a first-turn crash in 450SX semi 2.
- This is a short week for Seely and Canard, who travel east to participate in Thursday's press conference in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the series returns to action on Saturday, April 30.
THE FOCUS: At the Gate
Most race fans know that one of the most important parts of any race is the start, and that begins with a good gate selection, which is in turn affected by a rider's result in qualifying practice and throughout the night. "Anytime you're in the top three or four, it's a good thing," Trey Canard explained. "There are so many variables to picking your gate that everything really has to add up. Winning your heat race or getting second is very big so you have more options in the main event, and obviously the further back you go in finishing position the less options you'll have."
Canard pointed out that there's more to a good gate than how far inside or outside it is. "When you're looking at a gate, the first thing we look at is the rut in front of it," he said. "A lot of times, they can get big holes or a sharp curb that your wheel could hit and go airborne or jump around. Then we look at the rut behind the gate. Usually you want the smoothest, straightest one, with the best dirt possible for traction. When mechanics are kicking and stomping the gate, they're trying to kick in the sides of the rut to get some fresh dirt in there for more traction."
QUOTES
Trey Canard
At least I'm consistent with those fifths. I'm definitely disappointed with not being on the podium again because that's what I was going for. I'm incredibly happy with the bike, the team is doing a great job and I've been riding pretty well, so I just need to execute everything better next weekend and put myself right at the front with those guys at the beginning. My start was better this weekend but still not what it needs to be. Overall, I just need to ride a better race, which sounds simple but that's all there is to it.
Cole Seely
Today was pretty tough, especially for my first one back. I got through practice pretty good; the track was super technical and kind of slow, which I enjoyed. I qualified fifth but it was pretty much downhill from there. I had a little tip-over in the heat race, then went back out for the semi, where somebody's foot peg went into my front wheel in the first turn, breaking a few of my spokes and sending me to the ground. I landed on my shoulder and neck, which I injured a couple weeks back, so I didn't know if I was going to go back out for the LCQ. I'm kind of riding with a good amount of pain right now but trying to push through it. I just want to show some heart though so I went back out and once the adrenaline kicked in I was able to ride through it. Going to the LCQ is always nerve wracking but I was able to transfer to the main. With such a bad gate pick in the main, I didn't expect to get off to a great start but I was nearly last, so just tried to focus ahead and start picking guys off. I was able to ride a pretty good race and get a decent position at the end of the day, but how I had to get there was tough.
Dan Betley: Team Manager
We're still shooting for the podium so I'm not totally happy with our overall result, but I think the guys rode well with all of them finishing in the top 10. Trey looked good all day but again didn't get the greatest start. Once he was in fifth the leaders were too far away, so I think he just rode conservatively to the finish. Cole showed a lot of heart today. This was his first race back and after his crash in the semi, we weren't sure if he'd be able to line up again. He toughed it out in the LCQ though and put together a solid finish in the main.
Brent Presnell: Mechanic (Trey Canard)
Tonight was pretty good. I feel like Trey didn't have the comfort or speed in the main event that he's had in weeks prior, so he was never really on the lead pace. With five laps to go it seemed like he started to find his rhythm, laying down some pretty good laps and closing in a little bit on [Jason] Anderson but at that point it was too late. He didn't get the greatest start again, but I think this time it was because he backed out of it. He had a killer jump off the line but halfway down the straightaway it looked like he let off and a bunch of riders got in front of him. We've got a couple more rounds to make it happen, so hopefully we can do that.
Rich Simmons: Mechanic (Cole Seely)
We just wanted Cole to come back and race this weekend. We didn't have a ton of expectations in terms of a podium or top 5, but just wanted to get him on the track. Overall it was a tough day but I think a seventh-place finish after everything is pretty awesome. It was a good ride for him, but he definitely had to take the long way to get there. He was in a qualifying position in his heat, but made a mistake and fell back pretty far, which gave him a bad gate pick in the semi. Then he got tangled with other riders in the first turn of the semi, going down and breaking his front wheel so he had to pull off and go to the LCQ. He won that, but had one of the furthest outside gates in the main. He was nearly last after the first turn, so I'm happy with his seventh.
Media contact:
Mandie Fonteyn // Dispatch Communications // mandie@dispatchco.com // +1 (951) 537-0454
450SX Results
1) Ken Roczen
2) Eli Tomac
3) Ryan Dungey
4) Jason Anderson
5) Trey Canard
6) Justin Bogle
7) Cole Seely
8) Weston Peick
9) Chad Reed
10) Marvin Musquin
450SX Championship Points (after 15 of 17 rounds)
1) Ryan Dungey 348
2) Ken Roczen 305
3) Jason Anderson 278
4) Eli Tomac 248
5) Chad Reed 220
6) Marvin Musquin 199
7) Cole Seely 187
8) Trey Canard 170
9) Justin Brayton 170
10) Weston Peick 115
…
14) Justin Bogle 94
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