Trey Canard, on the GEICO Powersports Honda, took a commanding win in the Lites main event at Anaheim III and with it gained a big chunk of points on series points leader Jake Weimer, who fell early in the race.
On a technical and difficult circuit that saw many riders getting carried off the track over the course of the night, Canard rode flawlessly in the 15-lap main. Once he passed holeshotter Wil Hahn, on the Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oils Honda, Canard took off and opened up a comfortable lead which he easily held all the way to the checkered flag.
Broc Tickle, on the DNA Shred Stix/Division 7 Yamaha, got out of the gate with the lead group and eventually worked his way around Hahn, passing him for second place on the fourth lap. Tickle and Hahn would race close together the whole race, but Hahn could never get close enough to attempt a pass and had to settle for third.
Tickle took the checkered flag five seconds behind Canard, who cooled his engines on the last lap.
Fourth place went to GEICO Powersport Honda’s Blake Wharton, followed by Factory FMF/KTM’s PJ Larsen.
Weimer, on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, had a tough night. Weimer started off in third and actually passed Hahn for second place on the fourth lap just before falling in a turn. It was a simple fall, but he struggled to get the bike relit and that’s what cost him. When it did fire back up, he was back in 19th place. He spent the rest of the race catching back up, passing one rider after the other and eventually finishing in eighth place.
Despite seeing his points lead reduced by 12 to Canard, Weimer still enjoys a healthy 14-point lead over Canard (135-121) with two rounds to go. Hahn is third with 114 points.
The West series now takes a long break before resuming in April.
Josh Hansen, who won his heat race over Wharton and Tickle earlier in the night, was working his way up through the pack after getting a bad start when he fell in a turn and spent about 30 seconds trying to restart the bike. He ended up finishing in 17th place.
Max Anstie, of the Star Racing Yamaha team who was seventh in points going into the race, suffered a bad crash in his heat race and was carried off the track on a stretcher with a possible broken hip.
Result:
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Results: February 13, 2010 (Round 6 of 8)
HEAT 1 (6 laps, 1-9 qualify): 1. Josh Hansen (Kaw); 2. Blake Wharton (Hon); 3. Broc Tickle (Yam); 4. Tiger Lacey (Kaw); 5. Hunter Hewitt (Suz); 6. Chris Gosselaar (Hon); 7. Ryan Clark (Hon); 8. Robert Kiniry (Suz); 9. Phillip Nicoletti (KTM); 10. Jason Potter (Hon); 11. Hugo Dagod (KTM); 12. Jake Canada (Kaw); 13. Tanner Reidman (Hon); 14. Ronnie Goodwin (Kaw); 15. Landen Powell (KTM); 16. Jason Langford (Kaw); 17. Rustin Meyer (Hon); 18. Chad Gores (Hon); 19. Tommy Weeck (Hon); 20. Kyle Engle (Hon).
Race Time: 6 min., 06.068 sec.
Margin of Victory: 1.762 sec.
HEAT 2 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer): 1. Jake Weimer (Kaw); 2. Wil Hahn (Hon); 3. Trey Canard (Hon); 4. Travis Baker (Yam); 5. Jeff Alessi (Yam); 6. Antonio Balbi (Kaw); 7. PJ Larsen (KTM); 8. Eric McCrummen (Hon); 9. Sean Borkenhagen (KTM); 10. Hunter Meyer (Kaw); 11. Michael Horban (Hon); 12. J. Mann Jr. (Kaw); 13. Deven Raper (Kaw); 14. Mitchell Rask (Kaw); 15. Chris Howell (Yam); 16. Rhett Urseth (Kaw); 17. Trevor Allred (Hon); 18. Cameron Rodriguez (Hon); 19. Max Anstie (Yam); 20. Joshua Clark (Kaw).
Race Time: 6 min., 02.109 sec.
Margin of Victory: 0.648 sec.
LCQ (4 laps, 1-2 qualify): 1. Tanner Reidman (Hon); 2. Hugo Dagod (KTM); 3. Tommy Weeck (Hon); 4. Michael Horban (Hon); 5. Jason Potter (Hon); 6. Chris Howell (Yam); 7. Chad Gores (Hon); 8. J. Mann Jr. (Kaw); 9. Hunter Meyer (Kaw); 10. Rhett Urseth (Kaw); 11. Daven Raper (Kaw); 12. Ronnie Goodwin (Kaw); 13. Trevor Allred (Hon); 14. Mitchell Rask (Kaw); 15. Landen Powell (KTM); 16. Jason Langford (Kaw); 17. Rustin Meyer (Hon); 18. Jake Canada (Kaw); 19. Cameron Rodriguez (Hon); 20. Max Anstie (Yam); 21. Joshua Clark (Kaw); 22. Kyle Engle (Hon).
MAIN: 1. Trey Canard (Hon); 2. Broc Tickle (Yam); 3. Wil Hahn (Hon); 4. Blake Wharton (Hon); 5. PJ Larsen (KTM); 6. Phillip Nicoletti (KTM); 7. Travis Baker (Yam); 8. Jake Weimer (Kaw); 9. Antonio Balbi (Kaw); 10. Jeff Alessi (Yam); 11. Ryan Clark (Hon); 12. Sean Borkenhagen (KTM); 13. Hunter Hewitt (Suz); 14. Eric McCrummen (Hon); 15. Robert Kiniry (Suz); 16. Chris Gosselaar (Hon); 17. Josh Hansen (Kaw); 18. Tanner Reidman (Hon); 19. Tiger Lacey (Kaw); 20. Hugo Dagod (KTM).
Race Time: 15 min., 21.951 sec.
Margin of Victory: 5.190 sec.
