Canard Breaks Through for First Career Win in Houston

Barcia Grabs Supercross Lites Eastern Regional Opener

 HOUSTON,
Texas. (February 12, 2011) – A huge crowd of 45,859 fans filled Reliant
Stadium on Saturday night for the sixth race of the 2011 Monster Energy
AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season. After wild night of
action that resulted in a shakeup in the points, American Honda’s Trey
Canard, of Shawnee, Okla., captured his first career Supercross class
victory. In the opening race of the Supercross Lites Eastern Regional
Championship, GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia, of Ochlocknee, Ga., raced to
the win in the 15-lap main event.

As
the 20 riders in the Supercross class main event converged on the first
corner, a melee ensued, collecting Supercross points leader James
Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., and his San Manuel Yamaha as well as
TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed, of Tampa, Fla. Through the chaos, GEICO
Honda’s Kevin Windham, of Centreville, Miss., grabbed the holeshot and
led for the first half of the main event. Stewart and Reed crossed the
line in 15^th and 17^th, respectively, following the first lap.

While
leading, Windham crashed in a rhythm section and out of the race,
handing the lead to Canard on Lap 10. For the remainder of the main
event, defending Supercross champion Ryan Dungey, of Belle Plaine,
Minn., closed in aboard his Rockstar/Makita Suzuki and actually took
over the top spot for a short time before Canard fought back and fended
off Dungey to take the victory.

“I
don’t know what to say,” said Canard. “It was an awesome race. I just
tried to hang in there, because it was a tricky track. I made a mistake
and (Ryan) Dungey gained a lot of time on me and from there I was just
riding defensive. We had a bit of a rough week this week, but this
makes it all better.”

Dungey finished second, almost clipping Canard at the line, and rebounded from his DNF one week ago.

“(The
championship) isn’t over till it’s over,” said Dungey. “There’s still a
lot of racing left. We came up a little bit shy and I just have to look
forward to next weekend.”

Completing
the podium was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo,
Wash., who overcame a bad start of his own, crossing the line in 12^th on the first lap.

“That
was a tricky (first) turn,” said Villopoto. “It was super tight but I
got through there. There were definitely some close moments in that
race. The name of the game when you’re at the top (of the standings) is
to be consistent.”

By virtue of his podium finish, Villopoto took over the Supercross championship lead.

As
the gates dropped on the Supercross Lites class main event, Suzuki
City’s Malcolm Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., grabbed the holeshot in
his professional debut. He was quickly passed by Barcia and Monster
Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson, of Menifee, Calif., who
gradually pulled away from the field. The pair of sophomore riders
traded the top spot on several occasions before Barcia asserted himself
in the top spot and held on for the remainder of the race.

“That’s
racing right there,” said Barcia. “If we didn’t put on a show, then I
don’t know what will. We had a great race out there. I’m just so
thankful for my whole team. Going that fast, that hard and that intense
for 15 laps was crazy, but that’s what I’ve been training for.”

Wilson
followed in the runner-up spot while his Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki teammate Blake Baggett, of Grand Terrace, Calif.,
followed in third.

Supercross Class Results: Houston

1.             Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda

2.             Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki

3.             Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki

4.             Davi Millsaps, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha

5.             Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM

6.             Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda

7.             Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM

8.             Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki

9.             Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki

10.          Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM

Supercross Class Season Standings

1.     Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 132

2.     James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha – 123

3.     Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda – 112

4.     Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda – 105

5.     Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki – 101

6.     Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM – 80

7.     Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki – 80

8.     Justin Brayton, Cornelius, N.C, Yamaha – 65

9.     Davi Millsaps, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha – 62

10.  Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda – 61

Supercross Lites Class Eastern Regional Results: Houston

1.     Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda

2.     Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki

3.     Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki

4.     Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha

5.     Ian Trettel, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki

6.     Blake Wharton, Aubrey, Texas, Honda

7.     Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki

8.     Lance Vincent, Youngsville, La., Honda

9.     Matt Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki

10.  Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda

Supercross Lites Class Eastern Regional Season Standings

1.     Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda – 25

2.     Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki – 22

3.     Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki – 20

4.     Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha – 18

5.     Ian Trettel, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki – 16

6.     Blake Wharton, Aubrey, Texas, Honda – 15

7.     Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki – 14

8.     Lance Vincent, Youngsville, La., Honda – 13

9.     Matt Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki – 12

10.  Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 11

The
2011 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season continues next weekend with
the final race in Southern California from San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.

For more information on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, please log on to www.SupercrossOnline.com. For all media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig dhartwig@feldinc.com or 630-566-6305. To follow Monster Energy Supercross on Facebook and Twitter, log on to http://www.facebook.com/supercrosslive and http://twitter.com/supercrosslive.

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