Page 54 - ISSUE_58

CHRISTIAN CRAIG
450 MX / 9TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / TILLS
>> Our country was built on a foundation of fortitude, strength, and bravery. Three adequate traits, that are absolutely necessary in order to maintain survival and succeed in this tough world we live in. The same can be said for the professional riders, who compete on the AMA motocross tour. You mustn’t let anything stand in your way of accomplishing your goal, and if you aren’t filled to the brim with courageousness and bravery, then you might as well not even place your name on the entry list. And with Washington D.C. a mere hop, skip, and throw away, the livelihood of those feelings were abundant as ever. And Christian Craig was radiating in them, the moment he stepped out of the semi. Matching with an Alias supply pack and shield, he was locked and ready to blitz any opposition that stood in his way. A fourteenth place start for moto one was a little less than what he had wished for, when shaking the pre-race crystal ball, but he could manage. Fighting early on with the likes of Fred-
die Noren, and new U.S. transplant, Kyle Chisholm, his crafty mystique was beginning to come to fruition. Etching each lap over the new lip on Henry Hill, he would merely roll into the following right-hander. It wasn’t necessarily that he was out-charging his opponents; he just wasn’t stopping; truly creating a momentum effect. It would be enough to keep the likes of Benny Bloss at bay, almost creeping on Cooper Webb to finish the moto; he would finish tenth. The second round, saw him cross the opening stripe in twelfth, looking to push his way into the front of the field. Shoving and bumping his way through traffic, there was no need for turn signals or brake lights, as it was all cutting, and the revving of the engine. Fending off the likes of Bloss, and Phil Nicoletti for the majority of the moto, these east coast ruts were enjoyable, but not as familiar to him as the hard pack of the western seaboard, he was still moving forward however. By the end of the moto, he had kept Bloss at bay, finishing just behind teammate Cole Seely. Taking ninth, would be good enough for a ninth overall.
54 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 20, 2017