American Honda announces today that current GEICO Powersports Honda West Series Lites rider Trey Canard will fill in for Honda Red Bull Racing's Andrew Short at select Supercross races.
Short suffered a lower leg injury at the San Diego Supercross on February 6 that will unfortunately sideline the popular rider for at least six weeks. During that time Canard will step up to the Supercross class on Short's Honda Red Bull Racing CRF450R and will join Davi Millsaps on the factory team.
Canard, a 19-year-old racing veteran hailing from Elk City, Oklahoma, will make the switch to the 450 class at select Supercross races, while the Lites West series takes a break until the Seattle, WA round on April 24. Canard will return to contest the Lites West series for the final two rounds of the season, plus the East-West shootout in Las Vegas.
"I am extremely honored and grateful to American Honda for this opportunity," said Canard, "and I would like to thank Rick Zielfelder and Jeff Majkrzak, owners of the GEICO Powersports Honda team, for allowing me to take advantage of this great opportunity to see what I can do on a Honda 450 in the Supercross class."
Honda Racing manager Gary Martini said, "Trey Canard has been racing Honda motorcycles and has been a part of the Honda family for four years now and we think this is a great opportunity for both parties. Also I would like to thank everyone at the GEICO Powersports team and all their sponsors for their support of Trey."
"Trey is one of the most dedicated, determined and talented riders in the paddock," said Honda Red Bull Racing Team Manager, Erik Kehoe. "We're all looking forward to welcoming him to the 450 class."
About Honda
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and personal watercraft in the U.S. American Honda's Motorcycle Division conducts the sales, marketing, and operational activities for these products through authorized Honda dealers. For more information on Honda products, go to www.powersports.honda.com.