AMA: Christian Craig fills in at HRC Honda!
With both Ken Roczen and Cole Seely out with injuries, Team Honda HRC today announced that Christian Craig (GEICO Honda) will fill in. Craig will compete at this weekend's Atlanta Supercross and next week's Daytona Supercross being the only factory rider on the CRF450R.
After a promising start to the AMA Supercross season, Team Honda HRC was plagued by injuries. Roczen suffered injuries to his right hand during the San Diego game. Before that, Roczen had achieved three podium finishes in the first five rounds. Seely was second in the championship standings when he broke his pelvis and sacrum at last weekend's Tampa round.
Ken Roczen is making progress in his recovery. On Tuesday, February 27, the German visited his local doctor for his first follow-up appointment since Dr. Viola operated on him on February 16. The sutures from all five of Roczen's incisions were removed and an additional x-ray was taken. Ken is still wearing a brace and has another check-up coming up in three weeks. However, Roczen is optimistic for the future and is setting his sights on the start of the AMA Pro Nationals, which begin on May 19 in Hangtown.
Teammate Cole Seely remains at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa but hopes to be released by the end of the week. At that time, he will return to his temporary home in Claremont, Florida, where he will remain until his follow-up appointment.
It will be the fourth time that Craig has been called in as a substitute for the American Honda factory team. As a Team Honda HRC rider last year, he posted a pair of 11th-place finishes at the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas AMA Supercross rounds and finished 11th at the AMA Pro Nationals. In October he also rode for HRC Honda during the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas.
Christian Craig: “I'm very excited to be riding the CRF450R in the coming weekends, but I'm also very disappointed by what happened to Cole and Ken,” said Craig. “Cole and I train and ride together. That's why it touched me to see him in such pain. I worked for the team all summer last year and during a few supercross rounds, so we know each other well. I also have an idea of which setting I prefer for the engine. We're going to test for a few more days before we go to Atlanta this weekend. I am grateful for this opportunity and hope that Cole and I get back to our normal routine soon. “
“Because Christian was already a Honda rider and rode our bike a lot last year, it made the most sense for us to move him to the 450 class,” explains Team Honda HRC Manager Erik Kehoe out. “He has the speed and talent to deliver solid results, which is why we look forward to working with him again. This is one of the many benefits of our great partnership with GEICO Honda. We really appreciate that we can get started with Christian so quickly. “
After the Daytona Supercross, Team Honda HRC will make a decision on which rider will be fielded for the subsequent rounds.
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