Powersports Honda

SOUTHWICK, Mass. Riders from the GEICO Powersports Honda team won both of the 250cc motos on Saturday at the Moto-X 338 National, and secured two of the three podium spots.

Trey Canard won the first moto of the day and finished third overall. Justin Barcia won moto No. 2 and was second overall to Tyla Rattray, who finished second in both motos and ended with a better combined finish. Barcia said conquering the shifting sands of Southwick was a real challenge.

“I got a great start in that second moto, got the lead fast and kind of checked out, ” said Barcia who finished fourth in the first moto of the day. “It felt pretty awesome. I wish I would have got the overall win today, but second shows that we’re getting there.

“This is the hardest track we race on all year. The bumps and the holes I almost lost it so bad in the second moto. The sand moves and the lappers crash and blow out the turns, so it’s different every lap.”

For Canard, his seventh podium finish of the season represented a mixed bag on the day. In the second moto, Canard fell after he touched wheels with Dean Wilson. While he rallied to finish ninth in that race, Canard’s streak of four consecutive event wins was broken.

“You expect a lot of crazy stuff to happen here at this track, ” Canard said. “That second moto wasn’t a good one, but it wasn’t a disaster, either. I came out of there healthy.

“I saw Rattray coming the last four or five laps of that first moto. I kind of made some mistakes, but pulled it together at the end. I probably had my best three laps of the day the last three laps of that moto.

A bright spot for Canard was that he shaved three points off of Christophe Pourcel’s lead in the 250 class. Canard trails by 13 points with two events worth 100 points total left in the season.

“It was a good day, ” Canard said. “I felt like I struggled all day. But for it being so difficult on me and coming out the way I did, I feel fortunate.”

Rookie Eli Tomac had another strong day, finishing seventh overall after finishes of sixth and seventh at Moto-X 338.

“Today was a solid day for me, ” Tomac said. “Once again starts got me. There are a ton of really fast guys out there. But I’m definitely back to my old self again and it feels good to be back. I’m pretty close to the top guys’ pace and I’m making it through the motos without dropping off.”