race recap
CHRISTIAN CRAIG | GRIT-208 | 450SX
February 14, 2023 · Christian Craig
CHRISTIAN CRAIG | GRIT-208 | 450SX
Striving to compete with the best in the sport, Christian Craig would return to action in Tampa while seeking to score an immaculate top-ten finish. In the previous weeks, his confidence would ascend in a linear manner and he refuted to plateau at any point. Therefore as the green flag waved for practice, there was little to guess, in regard to his plan of attack within the Sunshine State. Taking a lap or so to patrol the raceway, within the first five minutes of action, ninety-five percent of the track would be conquered. From that point on, it would be about examining acute details of race-craft; including entrance speed (to corners and whoops) along with braking points along both straightaways and berms. The patented sand section (from a few years ago) had returned to this racetrack, giving riders fits as they floated the front-end through the difficult soil composition. Though he excelled when viewing the summarization of his practice efforts, and rolled into heat racing seeking a direct transfer to the main event. Following his first lap position of third, it was easy to see the urgency in his riding style as he attacked the far-side whoop section. Many riders would descend over the last three to four whoops when preparing for the right-hander that followed, but he exhibited an opposite outlook with more speed being garnered before the ninety-degree bend that followed. That allowed him to solidify his standing inside the top-nine, despite Benny Bloss hounding him from just seconds behind his rear wheel. That persistence kept his focus intact, through the white flag circuit where the crowd would be standing with anticipation. Following the race winner, Jason Anderson, he would score a magnificent third-place result prior to embarking on the main event. After the metal bracket in front of his tire(s) collapsed, he looked to impose his will on the track and surrounding slate of opponents as quickly as possible. The rhythm lane after the "SX" triple was pivotal for the first five minutes of action; where he continued to triple his way through, despite being swarmed with multiple opponents in a three hundred and sixty-degree perimeter. Though flirting with danger (while leaping from rut to rut), his riskiness was rewarded with a position inside the top-fourteen. The war wouldn't be over though, within the last five laps of action (especially) where stakes would rise (and Craig continued to climb, with persistence that couldn't be forged). Emphasizing a series of insides, including in the tight left-hander after the finish-line, he would thwart the infiltration of Colt Nichols into tenth place; as he and the Honda rider would fight until the conclusion of the moto. Craig, could feel accomplished with tenth-place in hand; knowing that his relentlessness, had helped him fight through the field.