WASHOUGAL — Trey Canard has no shot at the championship.
A broken arm he suffered in March ruined any chance of that this summer.
But he is healthy now. And if Trey Canard is healthy, he is riding. He is racing.
Simple as that.
Canard is expected to make his season debut Saturday in the Lucas Oil U.S. Motocross Championship, riding in the 450 class for Team Honda HRC at the Peterson CAT Washougal National.
“I’m here to race,” Canard said. “That’s what I get paid to do. It’s my job. It’s my joy. I’m excited to be at the track.”
Canard, who is from Oklahoma, broke his left arm in Supercross, and missed the first eight rounds of the Motocross season. There are four rounds remaining.
“It took a really long time to heal,” Canard said. “I didn’t want to come back too early. I wanted to make sure I was doing it in a safe way. But I’m looking forward to coming back.”
A year ago, Canard finished third in the 450 championship, winning four of the final five motos and earning his first overall in the class with a victory in the final round of the series. He had so much momentum going into the Supercross season, he had to be thinking of the summer of 2015, dreaming of chasing a title.
The broken arm took away that dream. For now.
The drive to compete remains, though.
“Every time you’re on the gate, you want to win the race,” he said.
Still, Canard said he cannot expect too much of himself too soon.
“My goal is to ride my own race. I’m going to ride within my comfort level,” he said.
Well, Washougal is not exactly the most comfortable place in his career. Canard broke his leg here in 2008, and then in 2011, he crashed at the same spot and bent the rod that was used to fix that broken leg.
“I’ve raced here five times. One time, a perfect day,” he said of the 2010, when he won the 250 overall at Washougal. “Other two were decent. The other two, I left hurt. I don’t want to focus on any of that, good days, bad days. I come here as humbly as I can and enjoy it. I’m just trying to ride my motorcycle the best I can.”
He is one of the best in the world when healthy. Canard has been given the go-ahead from his medical team.
“I’m really fortunate and blessed to do something that I really enjoy,” he said.
How many people, he asked, have a job that makes one lose track of time.
Now, it is time for Trey Canard to return to racing. He wants to get a feel for where he is, to have a good run to prepare for Supercross. And then return next summer for a full season, to chase an outdoor championship.
450 Notes: Ryan Dungey has a 56-point lead over Ken Roczen in the race for the championship. … Dungey has won three of the eight event this season, including last week in Minnesota. … Justin Barcia has won two events and Roczen has won one. … Eli Tomac won the first two events this season, but he suffered a season-ending injury in Round 3. … The first moto of the 450 class will be at 2 p.m. Saturday. The second moto will be at 4 p.m.
