The penultimate round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM
World Championship race, made its way to Salt Lake City, UT, this past
Saturday, and 43,149 fans filled Rice-Eccles Stadium to witness the
action. Leading the charge for the Honda Red Riders was the Team Honda
Muscle Milk duo of Trey Canard and Justin Barcia, both finishing 4-5
respectively. Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda rider Eli Tomac had a
trying night in the main event, but was able to close his deficit to a
mere five points in the championship heading into the final round.
450 Race
With a solid second-place finish in his heat race, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard headed into the main event with a good gate pick. Jumping off the line to a fifth-place start, Canard was able to make his way into fourth a few laps in and continued to lay down consistent times throughout the entire 20-lap race. "It was a really good day for me, especially after last weekend," stated Canard. "I think I need some more days like this. The main was especially good for me through the whoops, it's the best I have ever ridden the whoops and they were really tough. I was really happy, we were able to progress the bike throughout the day. It was a really demanding track physically, especially with the altitude. I am happy to come away with a fourth and to be healthy heading into the final round."
With a solid second-place finish in his heat race, Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard headed into the main event with a good gate pick. Jumping off the line to a fifth-place start, Canard was able to make his way into fourth a few laps in and continued to lay down consistent times throughout the entire 20-lap race. "It was a really good day for me, especially after last weekend," stated Canard. "I think I need some more days like this. The main was especially good for me through the whoops, it's the best I have ever ridden the whoops and they were really tough. I was really happy, we were able to progress the bike throughout the day. It was a really demanding track physically, especially with the altitude. I am happy to come away with a fourth and to be healthy heading into the final round."
After scoring his second win of the season last weekend, Justin
Barcia was hoping to carry that same momentum into Utah. He posted the
fifth-quickest qualifying time in practice and was able to grab a third
in his heat race. Despite getting a mid-pack start in the main event,
Barcia made his way into sixth by the end of the first lap. A few laps
later, he made the pass into fifth, which is where he settled for the
night.
"I'm a little disappointed with my finish, especially after my win
last weekend," explained Barcia. "The track was super tough, it was
technical and tight, and I rode really tight. The whoops were gnarly,
but the bike was working awesome. We made some good changes to the bike
throughout the day, which really helped me. I'm ready to head into Vegas
and hopefully grab another win, I have had some good luck there in the
past."
250 Race
This weekend also marked the eighth round of the Western Regional 250 Supercross and Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac caught a huge break in the championship chase, after the currents points leader was unable to qualify for the main event. Tomac had the opportunity to walk away with the points lead, and it looked like he was going to capitalize on it after grabbing a second-place start behind his teammate Zach Osborne. Unfortunately, Tomac struggled in the challenging whoops the entire 20-lap main event, causing him to lose multiple positions. He was able to recover and finish in sixth overall, putting him a mere five points behind the points leader heading into the final round in Las Vegas.
This weekend also marked the eighth round of the Western Regional 250 Supercross and Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac caught a huge break in the championship chase, after the currents points leader was unable to qualify for the main event. Tomac had the opportunity to walk away with the points lead, and it looked like he was going to capitalize on it after grabbing a second-place start behind his teammate Zach Osborne. Unfortunately, Tomac struggled in the challenging whoops the entire 20-lap main event, causing him to lose multiple positions. He was able to recover and finish in sixth overall, putting him a mere five points behind the points leader heading into the final round in Las Vegas.
"I started the race in second, but just blew the race in the whoops,"
said Tomac, who leads the category with four victories this year. "It
was a section that just got me almost every time around. There were a
couple of passes where I got through them OK, but there were others
where I got wild and out of control."
In the main event, Osborne earned the holeshot and was still fighting
for a podium position when a crash in the whoops caused him to fall
outside the top 10. He remounted his GEICO Honda CRF250R and ultimately
finished in 12th place overall.
"I had a great day, actually," Osborne said. "Up until I fell in the
main everything was going really well. That kind of turned the whole
deal. I just need to soldier-up and fight for a great finish in Vegas. I
have nothing to lose and I plan to just go for it and try to get up on
the podium."
Suffering from a season-ending crash in Salt Lake City last year,
Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda's Cole Seely was able to put his
nervousness aside and ride a noteworthy race to finish in second place
overall on the podium.
The Focus: Suspension Settings
Suspension settings are key to the success of a rider and can be changed based on the track conditions and rider preference. Salt Lake City was a very tight and technical track, which required a few small changes to the Team Honda Muscle Milk CRF450Rs.
Suspension settings are key to the success of a rider and can be changed based on the track conditions and rider preference. Salt Lake City was a very tight and technical track, which required a few small changes to the Team Honda Muscle Milk CRF450Rs.
"The track today was very difficult, the whoop section specifically,"
said Shane Drew, Honda's chassis/suspension engineer. "The improvements
that we made today was that we just increased the wheelbase of our bike
to give more leverage on the rear shock, ultimately making it more
stable in the whoops. We made a few other small adjustments to the
high-speed settings of the shock, but nothing major. Both Trey and
Justin ride very similar setups and each rider received the same
changes."
450 Supercross Class Overall Results
1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Davi Millsaps
3. Ryan Dungey
4. Trey Canard (Honda)
5. Justin Barcia (Honda)
6. Justin Brayton
7. Josh Hill
8. Andrew Short
9. Weston Peick
10. Chad Reed (Honda)
2. Davi Millsaps
3. Ryan Dungey
4. Trey Canard (Honda)
5. Justin Barcia (Honda)
6. Justin Brayton
7. Josh Hill
8. Andrew Short
9. Weston Peick
10. Chad Reed (Honda)
450 Supercross Class Championship Points (after 16 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto 346
2. Davi Millsaps 318
3. Ryan Dungey 315
4. Justin Barcia 261
5. Chad Reed 224
6. Trey Canard 220
7. Andrew Short 202
8. Justin Brayton 177
9. James Stewart 174
10. Broc Tickle 165
2. Davi Millsaps 318
3. Ryan Dungey 315
4. Justin Barcia 261
5. Chad Reed 224
6. Trey Canard 220
7. Andrew Short 202
8. Justin Brayton 177
9. James Stewart 174
10. Broc Tickle 165
250 Supercross West Class Overall Results
1. Jason Anderson
2. Cole Seely (Honda)
3. Martin Davalos
4. Malcolm Stewart
5. Christian Craig (Honda)
6. Eli Tomac (Honda)
7. Ryan Sipes
8. Tyla Rattray
9. Joey Savatgy
10. Travis Baker
2. Cole Seely (Honda)
3. Martin Davalos
4. Malcolm Stewart
5. Christian Craig (Honda)
6. Eli Tomac (Honda)
7. Ryan Sipes
8. Tyla Rattray
9. Joey Savatgy
10. Travis Baker
250 Supercross West Class Championship Points (after 8 of 9 rounds)
1. Ken Roczen 163
2. Eli Tomac 158
3. Cole Seely 135
4. Jason Anderson 124
5. Martin Davalos 114
6. Zach Osborne 111
7. Kyle Cunningham 96
8. Christian Craig 87
9. Tyla Rattray 87
10. Joey Savatgy 87
2. Eli Tomac 158
3. Cole Seely 135
4. Jason Anderson 124
5. Martin Davalos 114
6. Zach Osborne 111
7. Kyle Cunningham 96
8. Christian Craig 87
9. Tyla Rattray 87
10. Joey Savatgy 87
Courtesy of: Honda Newsroom
