Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Christian Craig continued his upwards trajectory in Seattle, grabbing a breakthrough 450SX heat race win to further boost his confidence as he finds his feet in the highly-competitive premier class.

On his way to claiming the heat one victory, Craig withstood the pressure from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger, eventually taking the checkered flag with a 1.423s advantage.

“Seattle was all-around a pretty good day,” Craig said. “I felt good on the bike in practice and in the heat race I got a holeshot and led from start to finish, so that felt good to get my first heat race win of the season. It also felt good to lead some laps.

While the main event didn’t exactly go to plan for the number  28, crashing in the early laps, Craig was able to battle back into the top 10, making a well-executed pass in the final turn to finish ninth.

“In the main event I got off to a pretty good start, but I got shuffled back a little bit early, and during the second lap I went for a ride in the whoops and ended up cross-rutting right at the end and ejecting off,” he added.

“I was able to get up quickly but was dead last by then. I put my head down and got into the top ten with a couple of laps to go. Then I passed for ninth in the last corner. I think that shows my riding is improving. I just need to stay off the ground in the main and we’ll be up front.”

The Monster Energy Supercross Championship now heads into a weekend off, with the series to return on April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.