Originally Posted by
maddog34
it looks like the bearing is a direct press fit onto the fork, no crown race needed......
You must gave far more experience than me. I have NEVER seen a cartridge bearing headset that didn't use a conical system top and bottom to locate the bearing and stabilize it for radial loads.
In any case, the OP clearly stated it came with a split crown race, and even included photos of it. So why would insist he doesn't need one.