Trey Canard rebounded after last week’s disappointment to win the Oakland Supercross. Photography by Shan Moore
Honda’s Trey Canard put the events of last week’s black flag debacle behind him in a decisive fashion, passing early leader Chad Reed on lap seven of the 450 Main event before pulling away for the win at O.com Coliseum in Oakland, California, January 24.
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey came through to finish second, while Reed, on the Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports Kawasaki, held on to finish third.
BTO Sports/KTM rider Andrew Short continued his string of great starts this season with a massive holeshot, leading Reed, Soaring Eagle/RCH Suzuki’s Ken Roczen, Dungey, and Honda’s Cole Seely into the first lap. Canard blew past four riders on lap two, moving into sixth place at just about the same time that Roczen cased a triple jump and crashed. The series point leader slammed the front of his helmet on the handlebar and was slow to remount, but eventually got up and valiantly rode out the race, finishing in 15th and a lap down.
Up front, Reed pushed past Short on lap three and the crowd roared with approval, but Canard was a man on a mission, picking off a riders one after the other and soon came up on Reed on lap six.
After jumping into the back of Reed’s Kawasaki last week at Anaheim II, Canard wasted no time getting around Reed this time. He passed Reed cleanly, carving under him in a right-hander and then driving away over the triple that followed.
The podium seemed set, as the top five—Canard, Reed, Dungey, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac and Seeley—were spread evenly apart with the laps winding down, but on lap 16 Reed made a mistake, going over a berm on off the track and allowing Dungey by for second.
At the finish it was Canard by three seconds over Dungey, with Reed filling out the podium.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Canard. “I didn’t think I would be on the podium after the first few laps; it was busy out there. It has been a long haul to get here on top of the podium, and I am really happy about it.”
“I’m excited to run the red plate at the next round,” said Dungey. “I wish I could have taken the win tonight but I am happy that my consistent results have paid off and we are in the top spot heading to the next round. I have to keep building off these results and continue to work toward that win.”
Dungey’s consistency in the young series has paid off—at least up to this point. With Roczen having his first bad race of the season, the KTM rider moves into the points lead but by only four points over Roczen. Canard is 14 points back in third.
Tomac, who ended up fourth on the night, finishing just ahead of Seely, is fourth in the standings, two points behind Canard.
450 RESULTS
1. Trey Canard (Hon)
2. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
3. Chad Reed (Kaw)
4. Eli Tomac (Hon)
5. Cole Seely (Hon)
6. Justin Barcia (Yam)
7. Davi Millsaps (Kaw)
8. Andrew Short (KTM)
9. Blake Baggett (Suz)
10. Jason Anderson (Hus)
11. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
12. Brett Metcalfe (Suz)
13. Kyle Chisholm (Kaw)
14. Phil Nicoletti (Yam)
15. Ken Roczen (Suz)
16. Vince Friese (Hon)
17. Fredrik Noren (Hon)
18. Kyle Partridge (Hon)
19. Killian Rusk (Yam)
20. Martin Davalos (Hus)
21. Josh Grant (Kaw)
22. Brock Tickle (Suz)
POINTS STANDINGS
1. Ryan Dungey (82)
2. Ken Roczen (78)
3. Trey Canard (68)
4. Eli Tomac (64)
5. Jason Anderson (62)
6. Justin Barcia (58)
7. Cole Seely (45)
8. Davi Millsaps (44)
9. Andrew Short (44)
10. Chad Reed (42)
