Last night’s eighth-place finish in Anaheim was a disaster for Kawasaki’s James Stewart. Although Stewart is still third in points, he is now 14 points behind Ricky Carmichael (with 103 points to Carmichael’s 117). That is 14 points too far, especially when your opponent is a rider as consistent as Carmichael.
Carmichael, though still young, these days is considered a seasoned veteran – and he has the attitude to match. Already this season we have seen him exercise strategic restraint in several races, riding conservatively to finish on the podium rather than going “all-out” in an attempt to beat Stewart.
Carmichael has finished on the podium in every race so far, and we would be VERY surprised if he didn’t maintain this record through the end of the season. With 11 races left in the series, Stewart still has plenty of opportunities to make up points – but if Carmichael continues to podium every week, Stewart will be attempting to hit a rapidly moving target.
Of course, in racing there are always random factors that no one can anticipate – Carmichael could be injured in training, or he could crash during a race like Stewart did last night. With a rider of Carmichael’s skill and experience, however, these things become highly unlikely. It seems that Stewart has put himself in a very tough spot.
