Team Suzuki Press Office – June 24. Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart remains upbeat after the weekend’s fifth round of the AMA Pro Racing Motocross Championship that saw him crash in both races but fight back into points-scoring positions.
Stewart gave 100% at the Budds Creek National and, although his results didn’t necessarily reflect it, the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 rider felt better, stronger and more-prepared for the remainder of the season.
Although he hadn’t raced at Budds Creek since 2008, he made the best of the challenging track by turning in the fastest lap of the day in qualifying. In the first moto, he was clicking-off smooth, hot laps when he suffered a couple of unfortunate get-offs. Despite the setbacks, he still managed an 11th-place finish. In the second moto, Stewart got a top-10 start and ran in a podium position for several laps before tip-overs saw him finish 13th and 12th overall for the day.
Said Stewart: “I have to admit that we struggled a bit at Budds Creek. I went down a total of four times; twice each moto. The first time I went down, I started coming back up and I was battling with some fast people and got tangled-up with a rider and finished 11th. In the second moto, I didn’t get a good start but made my way up to third and it went a little better. I had some problems but made my way back to fifth and then wound-up crashing in the same spot I did in the first moto. It was just a bummer, but I could feel a difference in the second moto and it was better. Now we’re just focusing on being strong for Southwick and the rest of the races this year.”
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s next race is round six of the 2013 AMA Pro Motocross Championships on Saturday, June 29th at the Moto-X 338 National in Southwick.
