Torco Racing Fuels Honda Race Report - Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – Heading into the first break of the AMA Supercross season, the Torco Racing Fuels Honda team is inching closer to two potential championships.

After winning the first three main events of the season in the Lites East, team racer Trey Canard carried a 24-point lead in the championship into Minneapolis’ Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. However, a crash in practice left him limping off of the track and missing much of practice. Still, after a midpack start, he worked his way through the pack to grab a solid fourth-place finish despite the ailing leg, just behind Martin Davalos and missing the podium by small margin.

“I just tried to play it smart,” Canard said of his race. “I think I could’ve hit Martin and gotten third, but I didn’t want to take a chance on taking both of us out and put myself in a bad position. I did the best that I could. I tried to just work it, and tried to make something good out of something bad. Not every day is perfect, and not everything is always great, and I think today went well. I learned a lot of stuff, and I can’t complain at all.”

They say championships are won in your bad races, and Canard kept his composure and left Minneapolis with the same points lead as he went in with, just in front of a different rider. He now leads Ryan Villopoto by 24 points with three rounds left to run.

One of the big stories for the Torco Racing Fuels Honda team in Minneapolis was the re-emergence of star Lites rider Josh Grant. Grant has had a tough go of it so far this year, but in Minneapolis, he led all but one lap of the main event. Unfortunately, the lap he didn’t lead was the last one, but he and Villopoto put on a show that most fans will not soon forget, and despite a fall as he attempted to pass Villopoto back for the win over the last jump, Grant finished a solid second on the night.

“It was a good race,” Grant said. “I just got good starts and was pumped with everything that was going on. I had great lines and felt comfortable all day. After second practice, I felt even better, and I just knew that tonight was going to be a good night for me. I felt really comfortable with where we’re at in Minnesota and everyone that’s around – it’s kind of a good atmosphere. It’s good to get our team up on the podium, but it’s just unfortunate that I had to go down on that last jump. This gives me something to work for when we have our next race in three weeks, and we’ll go from there.”

Grant moved back inside the top 10 in points to seventh in the standings with three rounds left to run.

In the 450cc class, Kevin Windham once again managed to take back a bunch of points from points leader Chad Reed, who went down early in the main event and finished seventh. Windham finished a strong third – his seventh podium finish of the season – and he still has yet to finish outside the top five in a race this year.

Still, Windham wasn’t completely happy with his ride, which shows he is highly motivated to improve.

“I think I kind of dozed off on like lap four,” Windham said. “It was a disappointing start to a pretty good race. I’m happy with the way things went, ultimately. We made some points, and we’ve got to look at the big picture. Deep down, though, I feel like I left some points on the track. I feel like I could’ve won tonight, especially with the way my Heat went. My Heat went incredibly well. But all in all, I saw Chad down, I rebounded, and I made some valuable points, so I guess the three out of the last four races, we’ve made some points up on Chad, and at times, it’s been chunks like today. We’re closing in, and that feels good. I just really thought I had a good shot at doing a little better tonight, and this is part of the series where you feel like to be a champion you have to perform at optimal levels all the time, so it’s a little frustrating leaving a little bit out there tonight. We’re going to have a nice week off, and it’s going to be a good opportunity to look at a few of these things and have some new intensity for Toronto. I’m looking forward to hiding Easter eggs and hanging with the family for a week.”

Windham now sits only 17 points behind Reed with seven rounds remaining. Before Daytona a week previous, Windham sat 34 points back.

From here, the Torco Racing Fuels Honda team takes a well-deserved weekend off before heading to Toronto, Ontario, Canada’s domed Rogers Centre for round 12 of the AMA Supercross Series.

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.

Minneapolis 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. Ryan Sipes KTM

6. Tyler Bowers Yam

7. Ryan Morais Yam

8. Kyle Partridge Hon

9. Nico Izzi Suz

10. Billy Payne Hon

AMA Eastern Lites Standings (After 4 of 7 rounds):

1. Trey Canard (93/3 wins)

2. Ryan Villopoto (69/1 win)

3. Ryan Sipes (67)

4. Nico Izzi (54)

5. Ben Coisy (53)

6. Martin Davalos (53)

7. Josh Grant (47)

8. Tyler Bowers (45)

9. Billy Payne (42)

10. Branden Jesseman (39)

Minneapolis 450cc Main:

1. Josh Hill Yam

2. Ryan Dungey Suz

3. Kevin Windham Torco Racing Fuels Honda

4. Andrew Short Hon

5. Tommy Hahn Kaw

6. Davi Millsaps Hon

7. Chad Reed Yam

8. David Vuillemin Suz

9. Travis Preston Kaw

10. Nathan Ramsey Yam

AMA Supercross Standings (After 11 of 17 rounds):

1. Chad Reed (237/6 wins)

2. Kevin Windham (220/2 wins)

3. Andrew Short (172)

4. Davi Millsaps (164/1 win)

5. Timmy Ferry (137)

6. Josh Hill (135/1 win)

7. Nathan Ramsey (134)

8. David Vuillemin (115)

9. Paul Carpenter (97)

10. Nick Wey (95)