Team Honda HRC was pleased to welcome back Trey Canard at round eight of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. An injury had sidelined the Oklahoman for the previous four races, but Canard put together two solid rides aboard his factory CRF450R, scoring sixth overall with 6-6 finishes.

In moto one, Canard got a slow jump off the line, rounding the first turn outside the top 10, but he quickly began working his way forward, moving into seventh by the halfway point. He would climb one more position by the end of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap race, taking the checkered flag in sixth. After getting a similar start in moto two, Canard worked his way into fifth and stayed there for much of the race. With two laps remaining, he made a mistake while being pressured by another rider, causing him to fall one spot and again end the moto in sixth.    

NOTES

• On the eve of the race, Trey Canard and GEICO Honda's Jimmy Decotis and RJ Hampshire spent time signing autographs at River Valley Power & Sport in Red Wing, Minnesota.
• During the morning's timed qualifying practice period, Canard was fifth-fastest with a 2:13.773 lap time, posted during the second session.
• The Spring Creek track showcases some unique elements, including an uphill triple and the infamous rolling sand whoops. "This track is always really demanding," Canard said. "The triple step-up is a challenge because you really need to keep your momentum to make it. There are also ruts and bumps, so you have to make sure you don't get out of whack going up the face. The sand whoops are also a big obstacle here. You just want to make sure you aren't over-riding them; some guys manual through them while others jump them."
• At the end of Saturday's morning rider meeting, Red Rider Fredrik Noren, of Rocky Mountain MC, was presented with the RC Hard Charger Award for his comeback performance at the previous weekend's Southwick National. After going down in the first turn in both motos in Massachusetts, Noren charged to 23rd overall with 20-20 moto finishes.
• After scoring his career-best 450MX moto result last weekend in Massachusetts, GEICO Honda's Justin Bogle was sidelined this weekend with lingering effects from his moto-two crash. Bogle hopes to return for the next round.
• The Honda Red Riders will head to Washougal MX Park in the Pacific Northwest this week for round nine of the AMA Pro Motocross series on July 24. On Friday evening, riders will appear at Oregon's MotoSport Hillsboro for an autograph session.

THE FOCUS: Mishima Celebrates 20 Years For one member of Team Honda HRC, the month of July marks a career milestone, as Manager of Motorcycle Sports Takashi "Sam" Mishima recently celebrated his 20th anniversary with Honda.

"I started at Honda R&D and worked with the production-bike testing group for 18 years before I was transferred to American Honda racing two and half years ago," Mishima explained. "As the manager of Motorcycle Sports, I oversee all the motorcycle-racing activities for American Honda. I'm also a main conduit between American Honda's race team and HRC in Japan."

When asked about his favorite part of the job, Mishima had trouble picking just one. "I just love every aspect of motorcycles, especially racing," he said. "It doesn't feel like it's been that long. I guess time flies when you're having fun!"

QUOTES

Trey Canard Today wasn't too bad. I didn't ride as well as I wanted to, but it's hard to miss a few weeks and come back right where you left off. I'm just really happy to be back at the races, so I can't be too bummed. I didn't get the greatest start in either moto and just had to work my way forward. In the second moto, I was in fifth but made a mistake in a section, twisting my ankle pretty hard and letting Justin [Barcia] by me. I just need to keep pushing forward, and I'm excited for the rest of the season.

Dan Betley: Team Manager It was really good to see Trey back on the bike and out there racing for us. Ideally we would like to have been up battling for the podium, but for his first race back I'm happy with sixth. I think it will just take brushing off the dust and getting him back into race mode. These guys are at such a high level; being off the bike for even a couple weeks can cause them to lose an edge on the competition. We made a pretty big adjustment between motos, changing the fork setting to something we'd been working on with the other guys that he hadn't tried, and it worked out better for him. We'll start there for next weekend and continue fine-tuning a few things.

Brent Presnell: Mechanic (Trey Canard) I think today was a pretty positive first race back. Trey went 6-6, which is kind of where he left off, so it isn't too bad. He's been riding the past two weeks, but it's always hard to replicate a race pace at home while practicing, so I think it will just take him a little time to get back into it.

Media contact: Mandie Fonteyn // Dispatch Communications // mandie@dispatchco.com // +1 (951) 537-0454 

450MX Results 1) Ken Roczen (1-1) 2) Marvin Musquin (2-3) 3) Eli Tomac  (3-2) 4) Christophe Pourcel (5-4) 5) Justin Barcia (4-5) 6) Trey Canard (6-6) 7) Andrew Short (8-8) 8) Benny Blose (7-10) 9) Justin Brayton (9-9) 10) Phil Nicoletti (14-7)

450MX Championship Points (after 8 of 12 rounds) 1) Ken Roczen 387 2) Eli Tomac 332 3) Marvin Musquin 243 4) Justin Barcia 215 5) Christophe Pourcel 202  6) Broc Tickle 171 7) Cole Seely 151 8) Justin Brayton 144 9) Justin Bogle 136 10) Ryan Dungey 131

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