Seely Matches Career-Best 450MX Finish in Tennessee

Round five of the AMA Pro Motocross championship at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee, saw Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely put on an impressive performance en route to fourth overall, equaling his best overall result in the 450MX class.

In moto one, Seely grabbed the holeshot aboard his CRF450R but dropped back to fourth a few turns later. The Californian spent the remainder of the opening lap charging forward, retaking the lead and opening up a multi-second gap on the competition. Seely maintained that spot until the halfway point, when he engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse with a pair of challengers. He held tough initially but ultimately fell back to third, which is where he finished, matching his career-best 450MX moto result. During moto two, Seely scored a top-five start and quickly moved into fourth. He relinquished one position on lap nine but was still in contention for the final podium spot until giving up one more position with two laps remaining and finishing sixth.

NOTES

• For the second consecutive week, Trey Canard was sidelined from competition as he recuperates from injuries sustained in a crash suffered while practicing at his home track in Oklahoma. His condition will continue to be evaluated on weekly basis.
• During the morning’s timed qualifying practice period, Cole Seely’s 2:00.938 lap time in the first session was sixth-quickest, while GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle was 11^th with 2:02.312 in the second session.
• It was a challenging day for Bogle, who nonetheless overcame multiple mishaps to notch a 10^th overall result with 13-10 marks.
• After his solid showing in Tennessee, Seely sits third in the championship standings with 151 points. “It’s great to be third in points, but I’m just taking it race by race,” Seely said. “All that really matters is trying to get the best moto finishes I possibly can each weekend. At this point the title is out of sight, but I want to win motos and I want to win races. I’ve never been able to have that in my sights, so to be in contention for podiums and wins is obviously an improvement and I want to capitalize on it.”
• Next up for Team Honda HRC is round six of the AMA Pro Motocross series, which takes place at iconic RedBud MX in Buchanan, Michigan, over Fourth of July weekend. “RedBud is probably my favorite race of the year,” Seely said. “They do a great job with the track, and the whole atmosphere is unreal. The fans are crazy and overall it’s just an awesome event.”

THE FOCUS: Road Warriors

For most fans, it’s the riders that define a race team, but behind the scenes is an entire crew working to make each weekend run smoothly. When the races are over and the rest of the team flies home for the week, it’s the truck drivers who stay on the road and ensure that the equipment makes it to the next location. The job entails driving the pair of team transporters to 17 supercross rounds and 12 outdoor events—crossing the country several times and logging tens of thousands of miles—and the drivers are also in charge of cleaning the trucks inside and out, grocery shopping, cooking or arranging catering, ordering needed parts and videotaping practice sessions on race day.

“I’ve been driving trucks for a long time, but this is only my second season in the racing industry,” said hospitality-truck driver Donnie Keys. “This is so much different than what I did before, but I love it. Many people think that all we do is drive, but in reality the days we drive are almost like days off because once we reach our destination, there’s so much more that needs to be done. The hardest part is being away from my wife and kids for so long, but luckily they can come to some races and there are a few weekends off in the schedule.”

Media contact:

Mandie Fonteyn // Dispatch Communications // mandie@dispatchco.com // +1 (951) 537-0454