Press Release

Torco Racing Fuels Honda Race Report - Dallas

DALLAS, Texas – When combining both classes, the Torco Racing Fuels Honda team is easily the top team in the AMA pits so far this season. With two 450cc wins under star rider Kevin Windham, who sits second in points with only four rounds left to run, as well as one win in the AMA Western Regional Lites Championship under Jake Weimer in Phoenix (along with an additional podium finish in Houston), and the early-series domination of Trey Canard in the Eastern Lites Championship that has him in the driver’s seat for the title, there isn’t a team in the pits to match it.


In Dallas, the strong showings continued. Canard’s night started out tough and got tougher, as he went down in the second turn of his Heat race and was unable to restart his bike, which forced him into the Lites LCQ. There are no “provisional” qualifiers in the Lites class, so the LCQ truly had championship implications, but Canard left nothing to chance as he got the LCQ holeshot and went on to win in dominant fashion.


Still, that left Canard with the 19th pick on the gate. Even from there, he was near the front off the start, but then got tangled up with Billy Payne and championship rival Ryan Villopoto just after the first turn and quickly found himself dead last.


“In the main, I had a good jump, and I was in third, and Villopoto gave a little lovetap to Billy Payne, and that kind of started the drama,” Canard said. “Before I knew it, I was down on a tabletop and had nowhere to go, so I had to do a little 180 and head the other direction. That was it.”


Canard rounded the first lap in 20th while Villopoto was out front. However, by lap five of 15, he was already seventh.


“To be honest, I don’t even remember it,” Canard said. “I guess when things like that happen, your natural instincts take over, and that’s what happens when your adrenaline gets going. It’s like a fighter’s mentality, and what you know how to do just happens.”


Late in the race, Canard passed Tyler Bowers for fourth, and got to within striking distance of third-placed Martin Davalos on the last lap, but was forced to settle for fourth for the second race in a row.


“I had one lap to get Davalos after I passed Bowers, but I didn’t manage,” Canard said. “I was on his wheel at the end, but we can sit here and talk about what could’ve happened or what should’ve happened, but that’s what happened, and I just look forward to next weekend.”


Canard still leads Villopoto by 17 points with only two rounds left to run, and it’s possible that Canard can wrap up the championship in Detroit with a little help from Villopoto, as a win by Canard and a fifth or worse from Villopoto will clinch the title early.


While Canard was fighting his way through the pack for the second race in a row, his teammate Josh Grant was also putting on a performance similar to his from the previous event, as the opening laps saw Grant trade the lead with Villopoto before a stall cost him the spot.


“I just came into a corner on like the third lap or whatever and stalled it,” Grant said. “After that, luckily, I got it bump-started.”


Grant hung on for second in the main event, which paired nicely with his earlier Heat-race win for a rather successful night.


“That’s my goal now, just to get a win, stay healthy and consistent, and work on what’s coming up, which is the outdoors,” Grant said. “That’s all I can do right now.”


In the 450cc class, Windham started the night out with an absolutely dominant performance in his Heat race, where he won by a large margin over championship rival Chad Reed.


“I felt good. I got a great start,” Windham said. “My Torco Racing Fuels Honda was working great, and my Dunlop tires hooked up, and I got down there. That was the difference. It was easy. It was an easy track, and everyone was kind of doing the same thing. I put it on cruise control and had a couple opportunities to try some different stuff, and I felt like I was right where I needed to be for the main.”


However, the start didn’t work out quite as well in the main event.


“What had happened was, I had two different types of dirt, and I picked the dirt that was best behind the gate, but worst in front of the gate, and I was hoping I’d get a good jump,” Windham said. “But I think my body positioning was such that on the tacky dirt, I was really forward, and I got a good jump, and then I got over the gate and it spun. I didn’t have time to slide back. I think I would’ve been better off to start off with a more neutral body position on the gate that would work on both sides. That was my downfall. I got down there horribly, but as good as I rode in my Heat, I rode 10 times better than that in the main. That was one of the best rides that I’ve had. I don’t know that I made a mistake. I felt virtually on rails.”


Unfortunately, Windham started at the tail end of the top 10 while championship rival Reed was quickly into the lead, followed by Josh Hill, Davi Millsaps and Timmy Ferry. Windham got Ferry relatively early for fourth, but then couldn’t make any headway on Millsaps and Hill.


“I tell you what, I would’ve given some of my huge lead up in the Heat if I could’ve gotten some more for free in the main,” Windham said. “You’ve only got to win by an inch. I was just out there having fun.”


A couple of times in the main, Windham was within striking distance of Millsaps and Hill, only to get balked by lappers.


“Well, this was a track that had a lot of people doing the same lines,” Windham said. “It wasn’t the best track for passing. But we came through and we gave it our all. It hurts to ride as good as I rode today and lose. At this point in the game, with four rounds to go now, I’d rather ride crappy and win than ride really strong and get fourth. I lost some valuable points tonight. I’m trying to keep it close, but it’s just not happening. Two races in a row, we’re giving points. Anything’s still possible, but it’s starting to get to a point where it’s going to take a mishap on Chad’s part. He’s done it a couple times, so we’ll wait and see how it works. I’m not going to quit what I’m doing. I enjoyed tonight’s racing, and the fans were behind me so much. At the end of the day, I really can smell a championship, and when you lose points like that, it hits you in the stomach.”


Windham now trails Reed by 27 points with only four rounds left to run, but has a full 55 points on third place in the championship.


From here, the Torco Racing Fuels Honda team heads to Detroit’s Ford Field for round 14 of the AMA Supercross Series, and round six of the Lites East.


Team Sponsors: Torco Race Fuels, Honda, Planet Fitness, No Fear Energy, AMSOIL, Factory Connection, No Fear, Shoei, Gaerne, Spy, DVS, Cycra, Dunlop, EK, Ferodo, Hinson, Ogio, One Industries, Pro Circuit, Renthal, Showa, TAG, Twin Air, and Works Connection.


Dallas Lites Main:

1. Ryan Villopoto Kaw

2. Josh Grant Torco Racing Fuels Honda

3. Martin Davalos KTM

4. Trey Canard Torco Racing Fuels Honda

5. Tyler Bowers Yam

6. Ryan Morais Yam

7. Nico Izzi Suz

8. Branden Jesseman Kaw

9. Matt Goerke KTM

10. Billy Payne Hon


AMA Eastern Lites Standings (After 5 of 7 rounds):

1. Trey Canard (111/3 wins)

2. Ryan Villopoto (94/2 wins)

3. Martin Davalos (73)

4. Josh Grant (69)

5. Nico Izzi (68)

6. Ryan Sipes (67)

7. Tyler Bowers (61)

8. Ben Coisy (53)

9. Billy Payne (53)

10. Branden Jesseman (52)


Dallas 450cc Main:

1. Chad Reed Yam

2. Josh Hill Yam

3. Davi Millsaps Hon

4. Kevin Windham Torco Racing Fuels Honda

5. Timmy Ferry Kaw

6. Andrew Short Hon

7. Charles Summey Yam

8. Paul Carpenter Hon

9. Troy Adams Hon

10. Travis Preston Kaw


AMA Supercross Standings (After 13 of 17 rounds):

1. Chad Reed (287/8 wins)

2. Kevin Windham (260/2 wins)

3. Andrew Short (205)

4. Davi Millsaps (204/1 win)

5. Josh Hill (173/1 win)

6. Timmy Ferry (167)

7. Nathan Ramsey (147)

8. David Vuillemin (123)

9. Paul Carpenter (120)

10. Nick Wey (117)

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