Christian Craig To Race 450 Class with Honda HRC at Salt Lake City

Christian Craig, who is slated to fill-in for the injured Ken Roczen this summer in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, will use the upcoming Salt Lake City Supercross as a chance to get accustomed to the 450, as he’ll compete with Honda HRC in the 450 Class this weekend, the team announced today.

Already without the aforementioned Roczen, Cole Seely missed the Seattle Supercross due to a groin injury. At this time, Seely’s status for this weekend is still uncertain.

While Craig, a full-time 250 rider for GEICO Honda, has raced a 450 outdoors during his career, he’s only competed on a 450 at the Monster Energy Cup. This weekend will mark the first time he’s raced a 450 in a points paying Monster Energy Supercross event.

“I’m really excited to debut on the Honda CRF450R this weekend in Salt Lake,” Craig said in a team statement. “The only time I’ve ridden a 450 in supercross was at Monster Cup in 2012 and 2015. I’ll only have three days on the supercross bike going into the weekend, so my expectations are to have fun and try my best to put in some good results for the team. I’m thankful for this opportunity that HRC has given me.”

“We’re looking forward to having Christian ride for us this weekend in Salt Lake City,” added Team Honda HRC manager Dan Betley. “Although it’s only for one round, it will be good to have another rider out there, and it’s a nice chance for him to get to know the team and vice-versa. Christian won’t have spent much time on the bike with supercross settings, but we’re hoping he can deliver a solid result before finishing out the 250SX season and joining us full-time for motocross.”

This weekend is a one-off race for Craig with Honda HRC, as he’ll return to race the 250SX East Region when it resumes in East Rutherford.

This isn’t the first time Honda HRC has sought a fill-in this season. Craig’s GEICO Honda teammate Jeremy Martin raced with the team at the Daytona Supercross and finished second overall.