Image: Supplied.

Team Honda HRC has called in Christian Craig to stand-in for the upcoming two rounds of the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, recruited as the sole factory rider for Atlanta and Daytona.

With Roczen injured in San Diego and Seely joining him on the sidelines following an incident in Tampa, Honda has called Geico Honda 250SX West regular in to ride the CRF450R for the next two rounds.

“I’m super-excited to be riding the CRF450R for the next few weekends, but I’m also extremely bummed for Cole and Ken,” Craig said. “Cole and I are training and riding partners and kind of do everything together, so seeing him get hurt last weekend was really upsetting.”

I worked with the team for a couple supercross rounds last year and the entire summer, so we know each other well. I also have an idea of what settings I like on the bike and we’ll have a couple days to test before heading to Atlanta this weekend. I’m grateful for this opportunity and hoping Cole and I can get back to doing our normal routine soon.”

This will mark the fourth stint that Craig has served as a substitute rider for HRC. While pitting under the Team Honda HRC tent last year, Craig posted a pair of 11th place finishes at the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas rounds and then finished 11th overall in the Pro Motocross series. He also rode for the team at the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas last October.

Craig is currently sixth in the 250SX West standings, scoring a best result of third at Anaheim 2 earlier this season. Following the Daytona supercross, Team Honda HRC will make a decision on its rider line-up for subsequent rounds.