Wednesday, June 10, 2009

CANIDAE Continues to Roll in the Lone Star State at Freestone Raceway!

The CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki team has been the talk of the motocross world with great performances in both the 250 and 450 classes for the first 2 rounds. Tommy Hahn has been flying around the California tracks and has consistently the top finishing non-factory rider in the class. PJ Larsen and Kyle Cunningham have also shown signs of front running speed in the always tough 250 class. Nothing changed when the series moved outside of California to Wortham, TX. 

First race up was Moto #1 for the premier class where CANIDAE rider Tommy Hahn would continue to battle the biggest names in the sport. Tommy would blast out of the gate mid-pack and finish lap 1 in 20th position. Hahn would move up four spots into 16th place by the end of the second lap before Hahn found himself on the ground after a hard crash in a tricky section of the Texas track. Hahn would remount quickly and begin to charge towards the front, feeling the urgency to regain valuable points. Hahn would push the limits too far and while going for a pass for position, Tommy would crash violently ending his first moto only 6 laps in. Certainly a tough break for the rider from Decatur, TX. 

Moto #1 for the Motocross Lites riders was next and CANIDAE riders PJ Larsen and Kyle Cunningham would jump out of the gate to a good start with Larsen in 10th and Cunningham in 17th. Larsen would move up as high as 8th place before he crashed in a high-speed turn and lost several positions on the track, not to mention the abuse to his body. With adrenalin high, Larsen would dig deep and finish in 12th place for the moto. Cunningham, who has been battling a broken finger and 13 stitches in his forearm, somehow manages week after week to block out the pain. Kyle would charge hard and make it all the way up to 13th place at the end of the moto, a nice finish for both riders. 

Moto #2 for the 450 guys was underway and it was not looking good early on for Tommy Hahn. After his first moto crash, Hahn was extremely sore and rounded the first corner at the back of the pack. Tommy, who earned the “Ricky Carmichael, Hard Charger Award” at last week’s race in Hangtown, put his head down and went to work. Hahn would pass at least 10 riders before completing the first lap in 17th place and another five more on the second lap. As Tommy moved up in the standings, the riders got harder and harder to pass. By the halfway point of the race, Hahn was well inside the top ten in 8th place but not finished with his charge. Hahn would get all the way to 5th place when the checkered flags flew and his great ride in Moto 2 would earn Hahn a 12th place finish overall for the day. 

Moto #2 for the 250 riders was next and PJ Larsen knew he was in trouble during his sight lap. Always one to battle, PJ would line up for the start but only make it a few turns before pulling into the pits, ending his day. Cunningham, the only CANIDAE rider left on the track, would jump out to a good start and finish lap 1 in fifth place. Trying to concentrate with his incredible pain may have caused the young rider to make a few mistakes during the moto and drop back as far as 12th place but Cunningham would dig deep and finish the moto in 10th place giving him a great 10th place overall for the day! 

CANIDAE Motosport Kawasaki has proven to be top-notch performers and as tough as anyone on the track. The series heads to Mt. Morris, PA next week so make sure to stop by and say hi. See you there!

Jason Cobb

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