Page 38 - Issue-61

CHRISTIAN CRAIG
250 SX / 5TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Christian Craig’s 2017 season was one he would quickly like to forget. One season after winning his first career race while fighting for the 2016 250SX West Championship, he only cracked the top five three times with one podium. He was one of the title favorites going into last season making it all the more disappointing. However, he got the chance to race a Honda HRC 450 machine outdoors and he made the best of it. He led several laps throughout the season and nearly won a few motos. He capped the season with six straight top ten finishes and took that momentum into the offseason. He grinded and trained ada- mantly, determined to get back to fighting for wins in supercross aboard his Geico Honda 250 machine. He kicked off the season with a fifth at Anaheim 1 and looked to build on it in Houston but a practice crash put that in jeopardy. Nonetheless, with a tennis ball looking swell bulging from his ankle, Craig took all
the necessary precautions and managed to line up and go racing. He seemed nearly unhindered in the qualifying practice sessions and managed to come away with the seventh fastest lap time. He would go back to the truck and ice up and get the ankle ready to go for the night show. Craig did not get the start he needed in his heat race getting stuck outside the top ten in the first few corners. He hopped up to eighth by the end of the first lap and was up to fifth by the end of lap three. There he settled into a bit of a groove and slowly applied pressure to the rider in front of him, Justin Hill. Craig waited for the right opportunity and blitzed right around Hill on lap six. He’d take that fourth-place spot all the way to the checkered flag and would begin visualizing getting a better start in the main event. Craig would indeed get a better start in the main this time coming out of the first lap in fourth place. He was in prime position behind the top three of Savatgy, McElrath, and Cianciarulo. The three began battling closely and this allowed Craig to creep up on them. He looked really smooth and quick and ended up making it a four-way battle for the lead. But about the same time Craig applied pressure to the leaders, training partner and teammate, Chase Sexton, and Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha rider Aaron Plessinger began applying their own pres- sure to him. Craig would be able to fend off Sexton for the moment but Plessinger would be able to get by. Seconds later Craig would jump right back into fourth after Cianciarulo would go down in a corner. Sexton was still breathing down his neck and now after remounting, Cianciarulo was as well. About two thirds of the way through the race Cianciarulo would pass him back pushing him back to fifth place but Sexton was still applying the pressure. Finally, with just a few laps to go Sexton would pass Craig pushing him to sixth but once again, he didn’t last in that same position for long. On the second to last lap, Cianciarulo would go down again sending Craig back up into fifth where he would finish the race. It was wild race where sev- eral riders got jostled around but Craig, for the most part, stayed consistent and held his ground especially considering the ankle sprain he was dealing with. He will look to heal up this week and push for a podium finish next weekend at Anaheim 2 after back to back fifth place finishes.
38 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 14, 2018