Trey Canard keeps racing in supercross even if breaks go against him

Say this about Trey Canard: No one can question his devotion to supercross racing.

The 24-year-old Oklahoman has suffered several major injuries in the last three years yet keeps coming back in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series.

His perseverance paid off last weekend with a win in Oakland, and the Honda rider will try to score another victory Saturday night when the series makes its third and final stop of the season at Angel Stadium.

“I feel a certain obligation to keep going,� Canard said in an email. “I feel it is my God-given ability to race a motorcycle. It is also my passion.�

Canard became the third different winner in the series’ first four races of the season. Suzuki rider Ken Roczen won both of the previous races in Anaheim, and Eli Tomac won the Jan. 10 race in Phoenix on a Honda.

Supercross — with a season that runs from January to May — is the stadium version of off-road motorcycle racing, or motocross, with dirt tracks filled with curves, hills and jumps that frequently send riders into frightening crashes.

Canard’s victory in Oakland was his first since April 2011, and since then he mostly has been forced to deal with his injuries.

He broke the thigh bone in his left leg — twice — in 2011 and broke his collarbone during a test run near the end of that year.

Canard then broke his back during a race at Dodger Stadium in January 2012, and in late 2013 he broke his right arm during another practice run, causing him to miss the first several races last year.

“I wasn’t even sure I was going to be able to race again, let alone at a high enough level to get a job,� Canard said. “I learned to appreciate life and this sport all the more.�

Canard enters Saturday’s Angel Stadium race third in the championship standings, 14 points behind leader Ryan Dungey. Roczen is second in the title standings, four points behind Dungey.

Dungey won the supercross title in 2010, after which Ryan Villopoto won the championship the next four years. Villopoto this year left supercross to race overseas.

[email protected]

Twitter: @PeltzLATimes