Image: Octopi Media.

Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Christian Craig clarified post-race in Indianapolis last night that it was ‘hooked bars’ with Jett Lawrence that caused them to drop out of podium positions with two turns remaining in the 250SX East main event.

Craig was in line to finish second until coming under fire from charging Team Honda HRC rider Lawrence on the final lap, the pair coming together and going off-track – Craig the only one to fall – as Michael Mosiman and Jo Shimoda snuck by.

It was a frustrating end to the evening for Craig as he watched teammate Colt Nichols ride away to a commanding second victory in a row, building an advantage of eight points in the standings after the two entered Indy 1 tied for the red plates. Craig remounted to finish fifth last night.

“The day started off well in Indy and I was feeling good with the track,” Craig reflected. “I won my heat race and went into the main confident. I started second behind my teammate and was able to latch onto him for a bit, but once we got into lappers he got away.

“I made some crucial mistakes towards the end of the race and with two corners left I hooked bars with another rider and we both went down. I ended up fifth, unfortunately. I’m looking forward to Indy 2 on Tuesday for some redemption!”

Lawrence, meanwhile, displayed maturity beyond his teenage years on the broadcast following the checkered flag and claiming P4, visibly disappointed by the end result but understanding of what had happened between he and the previous championship points-leader Craig.

“I had a really rough start, ended up clicking false neutral and then on the wall jump I thought I was going to hit [another rider] and I stopped, so made my night hard,” he explained. “I put on a really good ride, I was pushing hard the whole time.

“I thought I could get Christian in that last turn, but we came together. I wasn’t too fazed, but we got tangled up and kept going. I put my heart into that race because these three rounds are really, really important, so it sucks how it has to end like that.”