The 2015 AMA Pro Motocross season concluded with the Ironman National in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard rode to a respectable sixth-place overall finish. The Oklahoman struggled in the first moto, getting a less-than-desirable start and riding to eighth. In the final moto of the year, Canard launched his factory CRF450R off the line to a decent start, only for the race to be red-flagged on the opening lap. After the riders were directed back to the starting line, Canard was unable to duplicate the strong launch on the restart, and was outside the top 15 on lap one. He quickly began advancing though the pack, ultimately finishing the 15-lap race in fifth place.
NOTES
- On Friday, Trey Canard and mechanic Brent Presnell both sat down with Feld Motorsports’ film crew at the Ironman MX track to interview for the 2016 Supercross preview show, which will air in December on Fox Sports 1.
- During timed qualifying practice, Canard was eighth fastest with a time of 2:25.964, while fellow Red Rider Justin Bogle landed in 10th aboard his GEICO Honda CRF450R, at 2:26.351.
- In only his third 450 showing, Bogle looked more like a veteran, riding to an impressive fifth-place finish in the opening moto. While running eighth in moto 2, Bogle went down hard with two laps left and was unable to resume competition. His 5-30 scores landed him 13th “There’s a silver lining to this day,” Bogle said. “I got one solid moto in before the season was over, so that’s good.”
- Despite having raced all but five weekends since the New Year, Team Honda HRC will only have a short break before switching gears back to Supercross, as they begin testing for the Monster Energy Cup, to be held at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium October 17. “We’ll have about a two-week break, because that’s what Trey himself is taking off,” said mechanic Brent Presnell. “It doesn’t actually mean much for us, other then we get to catch up on everything. We won’t get a lot of time off, but it will be a little more relaxed around the shop at least. Then we’ll start testing for Supercross.”
THE FOCUS: Honda Legends Return
In addition to serving as the final stop in the AMA Pro Motocross series, the Ironman National showcased a 12-rider lineup of racing veterans and former champions, in the inaugural Legends Race. It was a rare opportunity for race fans to see some of the sport’s most successful names take to the track for bragging rights. The star-studded roster included Honda hero Jeff Stanton, a triple champion in both AMA Motocross and AMA Supercross, along with fan-favorite and 27-time premier-class race-winner Kevin Windham. Also lining up for the memorable event was 1990 AMA Motocross 125 Champion and current Motosport.com/GPI/Honda team manger Guy Cooper.
Windham has only ridden sporadically since retiring in 2013, but he enjoyed the opportunity to get back on his GEICO Honda CRF450. “I didn’t know what to expect because a lot of us haven’t ridden in a long time,” Windham said. “Some of them had, and I think it was pretty obvious who had been doing the riding and who hadn’t. I tried to stay with them as best I could, but being retired and old, I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I could get hurt.”
Trey Canard
“Things weren’t great today; I definitely struggled again. The track was gnarly. If I’m being honest, I think they dig it a little too much, but there are no excuses. Everyone had the same track, and I just wasn’t on par. Practice wasn’t good, first moto wasn’t good after a bad start, but luckily we made some good changes before the second race and I felt better. I’m disappointed and wanted to do better, but I have to realize that these guys have been racing all season. I need to be a little more patient with myself, but it’s no fun going out there and riding around in eighth. Despite that, I’m grateful to be back racing and have four rounds under my belt. I feel like this will help me heading into next year.”
Dan Betley (Team Manager)
“To say this was a tough series would be an understatement. I’m happy for it to be over and to be moving toward 2016. We started strong with [Eli] Tomac winning the first five motos, but after Colorado it was rough and we were plagued with injury. Today didn’t go as we’d hoped, but we can just plan for next year and try to come back strong.”
Brent Presnell (Mechanic)
“Today went okay. The first moto was still pretty rough, but it’s always good to end things on a relatively high note. Trey made some good progress in the second moto and was riding a lot more like himself, but unfortunately the red flag took away the decent start that he had. All in all it was good; we’re done and now moving on to Monster Cup and the 2016 season.”
Image: Honda Racing Corporation
