In this sport, there are always going to be incidents. With riders pushing hard and taking big chances, the odds of incidental contact and mishap rises. That’s how it’s always been and how it will always be. If that is something a rider can’t live with, then this might not be the right sport to get involved in.
There are other times when riders make questionable choices, further raising the odds of injury. Christian Craig’s move on the second lap of the main event was one of those times.
Moving over to block a line can be done in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is done safely, effectively blocking the rider trying to make a pass. Jeff Emig was a master of this and notoriously hard to pass in his racing days. He could diagnose where a pass was likely and subsequently position himself and his motorcycle precisely where that pass would be impossible to make. Chad Reed is another rider who can make life miserable for anyone trying to pass him. They have been in the game for so long and have seen so many scenarios unfold that they have a sixth sense for what is to come.
That experience can give them the upper hand and almost make it look as if they are always a step ahead. These moves are subtle but very effective. They always guard the inside and stay low in the berms to prevent block passes. They are always keenly aware of the rider’s position behind them and know if said rider is close enough to make a move in the next turn. If so, they will take a very defensive line (see: inside) instead of what could be a faster but more vulnerable line. These tricks of the trade were learned through years of racing at the highest level and dueling for titles with the likes of Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, and James Stewart.
The move that Christian Craig made on Joey Savatgy was on the other side of that coin. As they entered that first whoops section, Christian was on the far right side and Joey had squared up the turn and come down the far left. Christian knew that Joey was there. His peripheral vision would pick that up and riders can also “feel” another rider alongside them. When he rode down the backside of the wall and entered the second set of whoops, he decided to move left into Savatgy’s line. Had Savatgy been further back, this would have been no problem as Christian would have had room to move wherever he chose. The problem is that Joey had no idea this was coming and once committed in the whoops, he was at the mercy of Christian’s decision.
I watched the replay about 50 times and Christian’s move is deliberate. He moves from the far right of the track and ends up on the far left by the end of the whoops. That is not coincidence and not an accident. He was moving to block Savatgy but did it in a spot where there was no room for that maneuver. Whether or not he was intending for that specific outcome is debatable and I sincerely doubt that he was aiming for contact. The fact that he intended to move into Savatgy’s line is not debatable. He intentionally altered his line and moved left through the whoops. Riders don’t gain a speed advantage from going from the far right to far left, so to reason that Craig just wanted that line for any other possibility than to block Savatgy would be hard to believe.
An example of how to safely fend off a rider in this same section can be seen by watching Roczen fight off Dungey multiple times during the 450 main event. Roczen would lean toward Dungey to discourage a pass, but he wouldn’t cross the track because he knows that is simply out of bounds. It was the exact same scenario but the execution was a much safer outcome for everyone.
No, this wasn’t the dirtiest move I have ever seen. I would even bet that topical expert Vince Friese thinks this was a sad take-out effort by Christian Craig. But, I can guarantee you that Joey Savatgy knows how dirty it was. Moving over on someone when they are already committed, whether it be whoops or a jump, is a big no-no. That is how people get hurt. If you want to take a rider high in a berm or slow them down on a straight-away, while that may not be smiled upon by some, it generally is safe in nature. There aren’t many injuries caused by block passing, even when contact is made. This move was a bit more than that.
In a post-race interview with Racer X’s Jason Weigandt, Christian said that he didn’t intend to move over that far. He also said, “I don’t like being a dirty rider but it’s a racing incident. It happens. I’m sure he would have cut over too.” This statement confuses me as he begins with somewhat admitting that it was dirty but then immediately flipping to say it was a racing incident. In my opinion, these altercations are usually one or the other. They are either intentionally dirty with lewd intentions or they are an unfortunate outcome of clean racing. I tend to believe there is a bit more of the former in this case but I also think that Christian is being truthful when he said that he didn’t intend to move over as far as he did. Had it been more subtle of a drift, Savatgy would have been left with some room and not done a front flip in the whoops. Unfortunately for Savatgy and his championship hopes, it didn’t pan out that way.
So, what is the point of all of this? Basically, it comes down to the split second choices that riders make 1000 times a weekend. Making good decisions is important for strategic reasons but also for the safety of those around you. Do I jump into traffic or not jump? Do I have room to make a pass here or will we both crash if I force it? These judgment calls happen over and over during a race. The decision that Christian Craig made was an example of when a rider simply gets it wrong. He thought he had room to close Savatgy off and protect his inside in the next turn. There was simply no room for that. Savatgy was far too close and this was a very dangerous place to move over on someone. It was a bad decision in an area of the track where bad decisions are catastrophic. Luckily for Savatgy, he escaped injury and was able to salvage a few points. As for his championship hopes, they may have been dashed by someone else’s poor decision.