James Stewart ends his winless streak in St. Louis: AMA Supercross Update
The 14th round of the 17-race Monster Energy American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Supercross, an International Motorcyclist Federation (FIM) Championship, went down this Saturday, 9 April, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, USA.
The showdown was as intense as ever, with the riders giving it their all to clinch the trophy. Once the dust was settled, it was San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart, who stood tall ending, bringing his winless streak to an end with his fourth win of season.
Finishing on runner-up position was the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto rounded out of the podium after finishing in third place.
The attendance of 59,518 fans made the atmosphere in the dome electrifying. Their cheers filled up the air, as some of the most exciting athletes took each other on in the centre. With only a few races left in the championship, the riders were determined
to make their trip to St. Louis count.
One rider, however, seemed to be more determined than the rest to do something special this Saturday night. That rider was none other than the infamous Stewart. It had been two months and eight races since he tasted victory. With a resolve to break the winless
streak at dome, the 25-year-old mounted his bike and braced himself for the 20-lap race.
As the starting gun was fired, Hart and Huntington/Dodge Motorsports’ Ivan Tedesco got the holeshot, winning himself the Nuclear Cowboyz® Holeshot Award. Stewart and Dungey remained in close pursuit throughout the first lap, with the rest of the pack in
tow.
Stewart managed to overtake Tedesco in the second lap to take the lead, with Dungey trailing in third place. At the start of the third lap, Dungey passed Tedesco to grab the second place. Soon the holeshot-winner lost his position to TwoTwo Motorsports’
Chad Reed and Kawasaki’s Villopoto respectively, eventually finishing the race in eighth place.
Stewart rode cautiously to ensure that he did not end up crashing, something that had been doing consistently over the past few weeks. The careful riding kept him in a comfortable lead as the race progressed, with Dungey in a determined pursuit but failing
to get any opportunity to capitalise on. Reed was riding in third place, but lost his position to Villopoto after landing off the course. However, he managed to quickly recover and take fourth, still one place ahead of Factory Honda’s Trey Canard.
After leading 19 of the 20 laps with his skilful and consistent riding, Stewart crossed the chequered flag 3 second ahead of Dungey, finally ending his winless streak. Overwhelmed with emotion during his podium-interview, a teary-eyed Stewart said, “I think
that this is probably the most emotional win I’ve ever had in my career. Just to go so long [without a win]. I don’t think it’s ever been that long in my amateur career. It felt like I couldn’t win anymore.”
Villopoto did not seem too disappointed with his third place finish.
“I’ll take a third place finish; it is much better than last year,” said Villopoto, who suffered a season-ending injury last year in St. Louis. “I am looking forward to going to my hometown race next weekend in Seattle.”
After the conclusion of the St. Louis race, Villopoto still tops the championship standings with 275 points. Dungey sits in second place with 270, just three points ahead of Dungey. The recent success moved Stewart to fourth place. He now has 259 points.
Canard is fifth with 255 points.
The 15th round of the AMA Supercross will bring the riders to Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington, on the 16 April.
Tags: