Honda fill-in rider Fredrik Noren is making a good case for being snatched up by a factory team in 2016.
Team Honda HRC fill-in rider Fredrik Noren enjoyed another solid day of filling-in for injured team regulars Trey Canard and Cole Seely by putting scoring a career-best fifth-place moto finish seventh overall at the La Crescent Wine & Spirit Spring Creek National at Spring Creek MX Park in, Millville, Minnesota, July 18. Noren’s result matcches his career-best overall finish, logged at the previous round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, the Red Bud National in Buchanan, Michigan.
Incidentally, Cole Seely was slated to make his return, but a crash during the second practice session left the 450 class rookie sidelined once again.
Muddy conditions in the first timed qualifying session gave Noren the second-fastest lap time, but when the track dried out during the second session, speeds picked up considerably, and Noren’s 2-minute, 30.2-second lap time was only good enough for 13th. Seely was 10th overall with a 2:28.4 time that he logged just prior to his crash.
During the day’s final race, Noren laid down the fifth-fastest lap time with a 2:16.6, which was over a second faster than his quickest time in moto one.
“It was a good day. I came out strong in the first practice and set the second-fastest lap; it was pretty muddy, which are the conditions I like. In the second practice I struggled and got 13th, but still got a decent gate spot in the first moto. I’ve been working a lot on my starts this week and that helped for sure because I got two good starts, putting myself in a good position in each race. We made some minor adjustments to the bike between motos that made me even more comfortable, and I think it showed in my riding. I’m happy and can’t wait to do better at Washougal.”
Spring Creek MX Park offers a wider variety of terrain than any other track in the series, but it’s best known for the infamous sand whoops that line the back two sweeping straightaways, and which require a bit of finesse to negotiate.
“The sand whoops are a challenge,” Noren said. “The first set is way more difficult than the second because the curve is bigger, so you have to get your rhythm right to flow through them. If you don’t, you’re basically jumping into each one. In the second set you have a lot more momentum coming out of the turn so you can attack them harder.”
Team Honda HRC has a short week before heading to Washougal MX Park in Southern Washington State, where the Red Riders will return to action for round nine on Saturday, July 25. The team also announced that it has plans to transition to the new 2016 CRF450R immediately after the conclusion of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. The 2016 CRF450R has received several updates aimed at improving handling, including a longer fork, a new rear-suspension link and revised damper settings.
“We’ll transition to the 2016 CRF450R immediately after the 2015 motocross season concludes in Indiana,” team manager Dan Betley said. “The bikes have a lot of similarities, so there aren’t any drastic changes that need to be made, but we’ll continue to improve our settings.”
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