AMA Supercross - Canard takes Oakland
By Team TMX on 28th Jan 15
Ken Roczens AMA 450 SX aspirations were derailed at Oaklands O.com Coliseum in California on Saturday night when he crashed hard on the second lap as he closed in on early leader Andrew Short.
The German - holding a 12-point lead going into the fourth round of the series - had just passed Chad Reed for second when he came up short on a jump, bouncing his head off the handlebars and slumping at the side of the track.
He eventually remounted dead last - over 20 seconds behind the 19th-placed rider - and staged a brave comeback, recovering to 15th at the flag but losing a whole heap of points to his title rivals in the process.
With Roczen (two wins) out of the picture and Eli Tomac (one win) slightly off the pace of the front runners the way was clear for a new winner and it was Trey Canard who seized the initiative.
Back in 13th around the first corner, he ended the first lap 10th and continued to carve his way forward.
At the front it was Andrew Short who led the early laps before Reed charged through on lap four.
But by quarter-distance Canard was on the veteran Aussie's back wheel and after last weekend's incident when Reed rode Canard off the track there was a chance the younger American was looking for payback.
Canard, however, is as clean-cut as they come and he went under Reed in a turn and eased away to score his first win since 2011 and the fourth 450 victory of his career.
