For Team Honda, the second of three 2015 stops at Angel Stadium of Anaheim was a rollercoaster of a night that saw both Trey Canard and Cole Seely involved in multiple encounters with other riders. Despite all the ups and downs, the team celebrated Seely’s best finish of the year so far.

During the season’s opening races, Seely had struggled to find his footing in the premier division but this weekend showed the Californian’s potential. Undeterred by a run-in with another rider mid-race, Seely kept his composure and was able to fight his way back through the field, crossing the finish line in sixth. Canard experienced his own challenges throughout the night, salvaging an 11th-place finish after he had clashes with Chad Reed during the main event. Meanwhile, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac backed up last week’s win with a third-place finish at Anaheim 2.

NOTES

• The evening before Trey Canard and Cole Seely lined up on the starting gate at Angel Stadium, they attended an autograph signing at local Powerhouse Dealer Huntington Beach Honda. “This is our ninth year hosting Team Honda for an autograph session,” said Marc Samulewicz, the dealership’s general manager. “Our first event was in 2006 with factory racers Jeremy McGrath, Ernesto Fonseca, Andrew Short, Travis Preston and Davi Millsaps. It’s been a great road since then and we really appreciate the support from Honda and its riders each year.”

• With a relatively long, technical track at Anaheim 2, lap times were a bit higher than at the first two rounds. Canard’s 1:02.580 time was good for third-best during daytime qualifying, just a couple of tenths off the top mark, while Seely was 11th at 1:03.790.

• Both Team Honda riders were slotted in the second heat race, and while neither had a great start, Seely was able to work forward to a runner-up finish. Canard was taken out by another rider and finished ninth, which meant he had to advance through the second semi race, in which he led every lap.

• Canard’s lap times in the main event showed that he was faster than indicated by his result. His best lap of 1:02.656 was fourth-quickest of all the riders, less than .7 seconds behind the 1:01.987 of GEICO Honda’s Tomac (the only rider in the main to dip below 1:02).

• Honda racers Canard and Tomac were two of just a few riders to turn a section of jumps on the technical track into a single, challenging “quad.”

• The progress by Canard in the early going was impressive. After completing lap one in 13th position, the Oklahoman advanced to eighth at the end of lap two and was up to fourth by lap six. His dual clashes with Chad Reed on lap eight dropped him to 15th place, and although the pack was spread out by that point, he was able to climb to 11th before the checkered flag flew.

• Canard’s misfortune in the main event caused him to slip from fourth in the points standings to a tie for fifth, his 43-point total being three behind Tomac and 29 behind the leading Ken Roczen. Seely is now in 11th with 29.

• Team Honda has a short week before heading to Oakland’s O.co Coliseum, where Canard and Seely will return to action at round four on Saturday, January 24. Prior to that, they’ll participate in Thursday’s press day, during which they’ll give pre-race interviews with the Bay Area media.

QUOTES

Cole Seely “It was good to finally get a result that I earned. Even with the crash, I came back from tenth to sixth, so I feel I dealt with the nerves better and rode really well overall. I hit all my marks each lap, and my fitness was there until late in the race. I did get into an incident with another rider, and I feel like there are better things to do out there than take each other out. I was pretty furious when I got off the ground, but I kept riding well. I feel like I have a really good base to build off of now. It’s a stacked field out there, and we’re all going really fast. It’s a lot to think about, but I handled it a lot better this weekend.”

Trey Canard “All together, it was a frustrating night. Once again, I didn’t get the start I was hoping for, but I was riding well. I made some good passes and was working my way forward. I was behind Chad Reed, and when he went outside in that one corner, I figured he’d go outside again. I carried too much momentum and landed on him, going down really hard. I got back up and was adjusting my goggles when out of nowhere I got hit and crashed again. I tried to get it together at the end, but it was too late to do much. It was a frustrating night, but I feel like I’m riding good and am healthy, so I’m thankful for that.”

Yasuhiro Yokoyama: Technical Director “First of all, Honda had Eli Tomac finishing on the podium with third place, so we’re pleased with that result. Our starts have been very inconsistent in the last two races, and we’ve been trying to improve that. Actually, we were aiming for all three riders to start the race in the top five, and at least Eli accomplished that, which was good. Unfortunately for Trey Canard and Cole Seely, their starts weren’t the greatest again, and they also had some mishaps during the race, so the results weren’t as good as we had hoped. However, their lap times were very competitive throughout the race, so we’re expecting much better results for them in Oakland. Thanks for supporting us; we’ll keep trying for the championship!”

Dan Betley: Team Manager “I’m not really happy. It was just weird, with strange things happening all day. Trey’s still struggling with starts. We thought we had it handled this week, but obviously we need to keep working on that, maybe with all the riders to some extent. With Trey’s crashes, everybody has his own opinion, but mine is that the first one was a racing incident. They got together, and from there it turned into something that never should have happened. It could have gone really bad because he almost got pushed into the other lane of oncoming traffic. Cole rode better even with his crash, so that’s something he can build off of. Overall, we’ll put this one behind us and keep going forward.”

Rich Simmons: Mechanic (Cole Seely) “Cole had some good improvements tonight, for sure. He got sixth, but I think he rode better than his result. He had a run-in with somebody on the track, and I think if that hadn’t happened, we either could have had another Honda on the podium, or at least top five. Overall, I think he rode a lot better—much more like himself. The last two races, I haven’t really seen him ride like he does during the week, but this time he was smooth and aggressive when he needed to be.”

Brent Presnell: Mechanic (Trey Canard) “It was actually shaping up to be a really good night. Trey had a terrible start but was riding awesome and was working his way through. The first crash with Chad was going to be a pretty aggressive pass, but at that point Trey had the lead pace and guys were getting away. That was a racing incident, but not the second one. Trey didn’t even have his hand on the handlebars, and he got cleaned out. It’s unfortunate, but it was good to see him riding well, and we’ll look for a better night in Oakland.”

THE FOCUS: 
Moto Meets MotoGP

For the second time this year, 2006 MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden paid a visit to Team Honda in the Anaheim pits. The Drive M7 Aspar rider lives in Kentucky but has a house near Angel Stadium where he stays while training during the winter, and he was attending the race with brother Roger and cousin Jake Lewis (both of whom are road racers in the new MotoAmerica series). “I always love to go and see one or two rounds when I can,” Hayden said. “Like any kind of motorcycle racing, Supercross is one of those sports that you really have to see live to get the full effect.”

Team Honda riders Trey Canard and Cole Seely had time for a quick chat with Hayden before the night program started, as did GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac. “I try and watch any type of racing when I’m home and have time to sit on the couch,” Seely said afterward. “It’s cool to see guys like Nicky here. I’ve never actually been to a MotoGP race but I’d like to, because when I watch guys like him ride, I have a huge respect for everything they do and all the work that I’m sure goes into it. I imagine he feels the same way about our sport, so it’s cool to see him having our back when he’s in town.”

Having worked with Honda and HRC for the better part of his professional career, Hayden knows many of the team’s technicians and was curious to check out the race bikes. “I’m a fan of the sport but also the equipment, so it’s nice to go in the pits and get a little tour to see what’s new and geek out a bit on their technology,” he said. “Motorcycle racers speak a similar language, even though I’m on the asphalt and they’re on dirt.”

As a part of his training, Hayden has been riding dirt track in Southern California aboard a 2015 CRF450R, but with the MotoGP test season approaching, Anaheim 2 was the last supercross round he’ll be able to attend this year. Still, he says he’ll be pulling for Team Honda. “Honda had some success at the first couple of races, and it’s good to see the atmosphere in the truck. Hopefully they can keep it going.”

450SX Results 1. Ken Roczen 2. Ryan Dungey 3. Eli Tomac (GEICO Honda) 4. Justin Barcia 5. Broc Tickle 6. Cole Seely (Team Honda) 7. Jason Anderson 8. Dean Wilson 9. Davi Millsaps 10. Blake Baggett 11. Trey Canard (Team Honda) 12. Brett Metcalfe 13. Kyle Chisholm 14. Nicholas Wey 15. Ben Lamay 16. Jimmy Albertson 17. Jacob Weimer 18. Cade Clason 19. Mike Alessi 20. Josh Grant 21. Andrew Short 22. Chad Reed

450SX Championship Points (after 3 of 17 rounds) 1. Ken Roczen 72 2. Ryan Dungey 60 3. Jason Anderson 51 4. Eli Tomac 46 5. Trey Canard 43 6. Justin Barcia 43 7. Broc Tickle 38 8. Weston Peick 32 9. Andrew Short 31 10. Davi Millsaps 30 11. Cole Seely 29 12. Blake Baggett 28 13. Jacob Weimer 26 14. Dean Wilson 23 15. Chad Reed 22 16. Brett Metcalfe 18 17. Mike Alessi 17 18. Justin Brayton 14 19. Kyle Chisholm 8 20. Nicholas Wey 7