After qualifying sixth, Craig got off to a good start in the first moto and quickly made his way to fifth. A couple of laps later he advanced to fourth but unfortunately went down on Lap 5. The Californian quickly rejoined the race and put in some fast laps to make his way from sixth to third in five laps. Craig kept his cool under pressure in the final laps to hold onto third for his best moto result on the 450. In the second moto, he had another good start in fifth and advanced to fourth on that first lap. Craig claimed third around the halfway mark and rode on to equal his Moto 1 result to secure third overall for his first 450 podium.
Tomac also enjoyed a good start to the day. After qualifying third, he got a great start in Moto 1 and quickly advanced to the runner-up spot. Unfortunately, as the race wore on he was ultimately shuffled back to seventh. Although he didn’t match his start in the first moto, the 2022 450SX Champion was much more comfortable and made his way from seventh to fifth in the first two laps. Tomac kept pushing and slotted in behind his teammate in fourth at the halfway mark, and then continued to put in strong laps to finish in that position for fourth overall.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads north next weekend for Round 2 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Rancho Cordova, California, on Saturday, June 4.
