GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig has broken through for his first career victory in Phoenix.
By Hayden Gregory
Round five of the Monster Energy Supercross season kicked off and it was Jimmy Decotis scoring his second SupercrossLive.com Holeshot award of the year. Honda teammate Christian Craig also started well and quickly passed Decotis for the lead in the opening exchanges.
Looking to recapture his championship lead after mechanical issues last weekend, Cooper Webb once again had to make do following a bad start. The defending champion recovered well working his way methodically from seventh to second by the end of the third lap.
The top two riders were set for another tussle following an entertaining battle at the front two weeks earlier. Craig looked strong in front and was given a lifeline when Webb crashed while attempting to take the lead on lap nine.
From that moment on the GEICO Honda rider pushed forward, keeping a lead on Webb who would recover without losing any positions. As the chequered flag waved Craig would capture his first career 250SX victory three seconds ahead of Webb.
“To come out of retirement and get my first win ever is amazing,” said Craig, who last raced full time in 2013. “On the last lap the crowd was so loud; it was awesome.”
Behind the pair, last week’s winner Joey Savatgy would cross in third meaning him and Webb are now tied on 98 points at the top of championship standings.
“I didn’t get a great start so I was playing catch up,” said Webb. “Then I crashed and threw away any hopes of getting the win.”
Australian rider Hayden Mellross had a strong night once again qualifying for the main before holding a top ten position for the majority of the race. Looking to record a career high finish the 51Fifty Energy Drink Yamaha rider crashed on the second last lap causing him to drop a few positions. He would eventually recover to finish in 15th place for the night.
Western Regional 250SX Class results:
1. Christian Craig
2. Cooper Webb
3. Joey Savatgy
4. Mitchell Oldenburg
5. Colt Nichols
6. Chris Alldredge
7. Alex Martin
8. Kyle Cunningham
9. Jimmy DeCotis
10. Kyle Peters
15. Hayden Mellross (AUS)
Western Regional 250SX Class championship standings:
1. Cooper Webb 98
2. Joey Savatgy 98
3. Christian Craig 87
4. Colt Nichols 81
5. Zach Osborne 74
6. Jimmy DeCotis 71
7. Mitchell Oldenburg 66
8. Kyle Peters 62
9. Jordan Smith 61
10. Kyle Cunningham 54
16. Hayden Mellross (AUS) 29
