Supercross rider Josh Grant injured his knee at the Phoenix Supercross event on January 15th. With Grant unable to ride, the American Honda Racing team has selected Supercross Lite rider Cole Seely to fill in at select Supercross races.
Seely will start his term with the Honda team at Indianapolis this weekend, where he will ride the CRF450R alongside new teammate Trey Canard.
Seely has had a successful run in the Supercross Lites division, claiming his first win at the Los Angeles Supercross event. The Supercross Lites division is on break until the Seattle event. With some time to spare, Seely will head down to Daytona to compete in the 450 class.
"Cole's a good fit for the American Honda Racing team, and this is a great opportunity for him to gain valuable experience racing in the Supercross class," said American Honda Racing Team Manager Erik Kehoe. "When opportunities like this arise, we reach out to affiliated Honda teams. Trey Canard showcased his talents aboard the factory prepared Honda CRF450R last year when he filled in for six Supercross rounds, and obviously that was a significant career opportunity for Trey.
"I would like to thank everyone at the Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda team and all their sponsors for allowing Cole to embrace this opportunity."
Seely was surprised to get the call, but is excited to try his hand in the premier class.
"Erik Kehoe called me to ask what I was doing during the break," Seely said. "I thought he was just calling to chat, so I told him I was going be doing some outdoor testing and drifting my car a little if I had some spare time. When he asked me if I wanted to ride Josh's bike, my heart almost jumped out of my chest. This is the opportunity you always dream of as a little kid. I called Tyler and Troy and they were pumped for me too. This is awesome. I rode the bike with Trey last week and I rode well. I'm looking forward to Indy."
