Troy Lee Designs / Lucas Oil / Honda Posts Solid Start to Season

January 10, 2011 - Corona, CA


AMA Supercross Series - Anaheim 1


After a big season in 2010, the TLD crew has been hard at work
preparing for 2011. We've welcomed some great new partners to the team,
including Adidas and Silly Bands, and more time than ever before was
spent ensuring that the machines Cole Seely, Travis Baker and Christian Craig
race on Saturdays are rocket ships. Last Saturday night it was time to
lay the first hand of cards on the table and see what was what.


All of the TLD riders posted competitive qualifying times in practice
and looked comfortable and ready to race. Travis Baker led the way in
the second heat race [which included all the TLD boys] by coming
through in third place. Seely would recover from a small crash and
sneak into the main while Christian Craig worked through some
first-race issues and would have to go through the LCQ. Christian got a
much better start in that race and secured his spot in the final.


The main event started with a dramatic Christian Craig holeshot. It
might have been a curse for the rookie rider who has come to expect so
much from himself. After leading the first lap he was knocked down by
another rider and would have to restart his bike from dead last.
Meanwhile, Cole Seely and Travis Baker did not get the starts they were
looking for. Both riders rode with heart and determination for the
entire fifteen laps and after cutting through much of the field
finished fifth and eighth respectively. While both riders obviously
anticipated better results it was a solid place to begin their march
toward the top of the podium.


"I felt good and confident going into the night," said Cole. "I just
wanted to put myself in a position to be a contender for the title. The
main event went great. I got a bad start but I was happy with the way I
rode and made a lot of good passes. I feel very confident and strong
going into the rest of the series."


"I felt really good going into today's race, but practice
wasn't too good," said Christian. "I had a bad crash in practice one
and hurt my back a little but the track was good. The main event was
good, I was leading until (Josh) Hansen kinda stuffed me and I went
down, I ended up 19th. I feel really confident going into next week, I
expect myself in the top 10."


This weekend the team heads to Phoenix, Arizona for round two.
Starts will be the focus for Baker and Seely prior to heading to the
desert while Craig simply needs to absorb all the experience he can
from his teammates. By seven o'clock on Saturday night they will all be
ready to fight for a win.


On behalf of the Troy Lee Designs race team staff and everyone at TLD,
we would like to wish a speedy recovery to our friends Wil Hahn and
Jimmy Albertson, both of whom were injured last weekend. Heal up
quickly, boys.


TLD would like to thank all of our team sponsors: Lucas Oil, American
Honda, PPG, Red Bull, SillyBrandz Global, Adidas, BioLytical Labs,
Dunlop, McQueen Racing, VQ OrthoCare, Shock Doctor, Skullcandy,
Renthal, Alpinestars, Pro Circuit, Primm MX Collection, Couts Heating
& Cooling, Selle Italia, N-Style, VP Racing Fuels, ODI, DID,
Rossignol, Pacific Collision Centers, Muc-Off, Kasey Kahne, Elrod
Racing, New Era, Leatt, Cycra, Hammerhead, Hinson, Twin Air, Talon,
QTM, and EPIC Action Camera.