5 Minutes With... Trey Canard
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 | 1:55 PM
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PrintPretty impressive to see Trey Canard on the podium in just his second race in the Supercross class…except that it’s really not a surprise if you go back to his 450 performances last year. Canard filled in for an injured Andrew Short and nailed five-straight podiums in the big class. Apparently, the pressure of racing the class full-time isn’t getting to the rookie at all, and what’s even more impressive is that he feels he can get much better.
Racer X Online: Hey, at the beginning of the year, there was talk of a big four, and now at round two you’re already standing on the podium, and you finished ahead of two of them. So you’ve already jacked this whole Big Four thing up.
Trey Canard: Yeah, and that’s understandable. The media can only list so many people, and those guys are champions, and I’m only a rookie. Happy to be a part of that group, and hopefully I can continue to build, and maybe make my own mark.
Canard grabbed his first podium of the year in Phoenix.
Photo: Simon Cudby
So yes, you’re a rookie. So are you even riding up to your potential, or are you just working on things?
Well, I’m really disappointed in the twenty laps I just did. I don’t feel like I rode to my potential at all. Just make a lot of mistakes. And that’s disappointing because I felt so good in practice, felt so comfortable on the bike. So when you’re riding good and you feel good, to end it with bad laps, that’s pretty disappointing. But, third in my second race of my first season on 450s, I’m still pretty happy.
Take me through the race. You had to make some passes to get up to this spot.
Yeah. Dungey and I started together, and I was fortunate to catch him in a tight spot at the beginning, and get past him. Then I got around Brayton who was up there, and then Kevin. So I noticed I was up to third, and I was like, “Man, this is pretty good.” I started to get pretty tight. I’m happy with the position, but I wished I would have ridden better.
Has the Big Four become the Big Five?
Photo: Simon Cudby
You had so much momentum at the end of last season. Was it hard to keep that going all the way through now?
It was easy, actually, when you have that kind of momentum. There’s nothing that disappoints you, it’s not like you come back from a race feeling like you didn’t ride that well. So I could keep it going. At the same time, I was excited about all the changes—team changes, bike changes, gear changes, you know the deal. I was excited the whole off season, and I think it went well.
So you got third tonight, you were in the hunt, and you feel you didn’t ride as well as you could. So aren’t you happy to know you’re already in third, and you can get even better?
Yes, yes, I’m happy with the position. But if some other riders were closer to me, it might not have happened. So I just can’t settle, I have to just keep putting the work on and see how far we can go.
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Good Ride TC for sure, Passed the Champ and pulled away... NICE!!!
Hope he gets a win soon!
Awesome pics and great kid! But 5 questions in 5 mins, he must talk really slow...lol Rip it up Trey, I know you'll be hard to pass if you ever get out front!
Other than Dungey has any other racer come further in their career than Trey in such a short period of time? Results on the track. A great PR and marketing guy (a little rough in the beginning, praise be!). And now a fan favorite based on his hard work ethic. I was not a fan after he hammered RV into the finish line post but after breaking a few major bones and still coming back and leaving it all on the track, well, it's hard not to cheer for Canard.
Trey is an all around cool kid......hard not to root for him
About that pass on Villopoto; that was for the championship, correct? I say anything goes at that point.
I totally agree with Kevin, when it comes down to a championship, you gotta do what u gotta do, could be the difference in a couple hundred thousand dollars next year, or even having a ride, not including sponsor money, endorsements, etc.... I miss the old days of Stanton, Bradshaw, Cooper, Matasaviech, LaRocco, Kiedrowski, etc.... Those guys were true motocrossers, nearly every race somebody got slammed into or taken out, motocross is a contract sport. These days the AMA freaks out if someone bumps into someone else or does anything like that. If you wanna talk about dirty, what about the move Jeff Alessi put on Grant in Phoenix this weekend? Clearly saw where Grant was and cut over on the face of the jump to take his line away in mid-air, that's crossing the line if you ask me. Love aggressive, bar banging racing, but that's a bit too much for me, gotta keep it clean.
5 minutes or 5 secs?
It is impossible to not like this kid. He really seems like he doesn't take what he does for granted and you can tell by his goon riding, that he's having fun and it's not just a job. Good luck Trey
Yeah, we bacame major TC fans at the rainy Daytona race a couple of years ago, he was the only rider on the pits willing to get wet to interact with the fans, then he went out and totally killed everyone on that race straight up, including RV. If any of you have kids, you understand. Keep it up TC, you will win soon...
Interesting thing is he looks so good on the 450 (just in overall style) whereas he seemed to "blend in" with everyone else when he was on a 250f. I REALLY enjoy watching the guys now, I go back and watch pre-scrub races and its kind of boring to watch.
I predict that if Trey wins a championship this sport will be taken to a whole new level. Some way, some how. This kid is the future and the future is going to be fun to watch.
Trey has the potential to be a 450 champ with a little luck. He just needs to stay healthy, stay away from the Millsaps and Alessi programs, and keep moving forward. He deserves to be at the front, and I'm sure that his dad is proud of him. Is Dungey feeling some pressure at having the #1 plate on, and a healthy CR, Bubbles, and RV in the pack? Too early to really say, but he is starting a bit slower than he did last year.
i miss the bar banging battles between the old big four stewart,reed windam,and Charmicheal man could they put on a show