Team Honda HRC press release:

Image: Supplied.

Round 4 of the AMA Pro Motocross series–the first of two events held this holiday weekend at Buchanan, Michigan’s RedBud MX–featured a solid performance by Team Honda HRC, with Chase Sexton turning in the first overall podium result of his young 450 career, via 3-4 moto scores, while teammate Christian Craig posted a creditable seventh overall with a 7-8 moto tally.

Sexton started in fourth in the first moto, then took over third on lap one, and that’s where he stayed for the remainder of the race, establishing a comfortable margin along the way. The Illinois native then completed lap one of moto two in fifth place, moved up a spot four laps in and stayed there until the 17th and final lap. Craig enjoyed improved starts, and after running fourth for the majority of the first moto, he was thwarted by a tip-over, dropping him to seventh place. The second moto saw him finish in complete lap one sixth before slipping to eighth by the finish.

Chase Sexton
“It was fun being back here for the first RedBud. I’m originally from the Midwest, so it’s nice riding a familiar track. Overall, the day was good. I qualified fourth and then in the motos went 3-4, which was pretty consistent. I had a lot of good battles and got second overall. The classes were all pretty close, so it was about being consistent both motos and trying to get results. I got a pretty good start in the second moto and almost had the holeshot, but got shuffled back a little bit. Overall we had a really good day with a first outdoor podium on the 450; looking forward to Monday.”

Christian Craig
“Overall the first round at Redbud was pretty good. Both motos I had better starts compared to the other rounds, which I was happy with. In the first moto I ran in fourth for a while, holding off [Eli] Tomac for about half the moto, then unfortunately had a tip-over, leaving me in seventh. In the second moto I ran my own race in eighth basically the whole time. We made a couple bike changes for the second one, which weren’t in the right direction, but no excuses; I need to be better and stay with those top guys. I’m happy to have had two consistent motos and excited to be back racing here in a couple days!”

Erik Kehoe – Team Manager
“Today was a solid and consistent day for both Chase and Christian. It was a great confidence-builder for the team going into the next round. We’re really looking forward to Monday’s race!”