CHRISTIAN CRAIG | GRIT-213 | 450SX

CHRISTIAN CRAIG | GRIT-213 | SX 450

The effortless riding style of Christian Craig was destined to adapt well to the slick conditions of Detroit, with the terrain being more reminiscent of practice tracks in California than that of Indianapolis or much else on the East coast. He had to be cognizant of his RPM at all times in practice, especially as he ascended up the dragon's back aboard his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna 450. The corner thereafter, would be an ice-rink, forcing him to feather the clutch when attacking the forthcoming finish-line double; which aided his capturing of seventh, prior to launching into heat race festivities in the early evening. Knowing what was at stake, before the start of his divisional round (i.e. main event gate pick) he was urgent in putting as many of these athletes behind him as possible. Therefore his twisting of the throttle as soon as the pin unlatched would be immaculate, simultaneously glancing to his left as he sped into the first corner. He would be just ahead of Shane McElrath while occupying the fifth-place position, knowing that time was limited with Eli Tomac just ahead. The Yamaha rider was one he'd passed in the final moments during last week's main event, giving him confidence as he sped alongside the Colorado racer with a means to move forward. He would reside here through the halfway point, still keeping the Suzuki rider in the rearview while soaring through the air over the largest "SX" double on the track. The corner thereafter was a predecessor for how fast he could attack the multitude of rhythm lanes that followed, doing his best to triple his way through both en route to the white flag. And throughout the "roughly" fifty-five second circuit, Craig remained error free while going on to clench fifth in the final standings; eager for the main event to begin, just hours later. His registry for the twenty-three lap contest would be tenth when passing the green flag, landing from the final double with authority before obliterating the corner that followed. Nearly scraping the outer tuff-blocks with his foot-peg, he would generate every ounce of power possible before entering into the whoop section that was at the end of the lane. Craig would thrive here, moving ahead of Justin Hill quickly while waiting for Jason Anderson (just ahead) to make a mistake. That would eventually come, as Anderson crashed to the ground and handed Craig the eighth-place residency. Not long thereafter, would be Adam Cianciarulo be overtaken as the Kawasaki rider faded rather quickly. He remained (in seventh) for quite sometime after making a pass on the Floridian, until just over two laps remained. Aaron Plessinger would crash and be forced out of the top ten, granting Craig a spot which would be earned with outright consistency. The Husqvarna athlete was then acknowledged in sixth, where he planned to build from in the coming weeks as results were finalized in Detroit.

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