DALLAS, Tex. – JDR/J-Star/KTM riders Malcolm Stewart and PJ Larsen finished 6th and 8th at the opening round of the AMA East Lites Supercross Series held at Cowboy Stadium.
Both riders had decent practice times during the morning qualifying sessions and were looking forward to lining up for their first heat race of the season. Larsen was up first in heat number one where he earned a mid-pack start and was able to come up to 5th place to qualify into the main event. In heat number two Stewart launched off the line to a 6th place start. During the six lap heat he was able to pass all the way up to 3rd to earn a great gate pick for the main event.
In the main event Stewart earned an impressive start inside the top five. On lap two he was sitting in 5th place behind Ken Roczen. The top five riders remained close throughout the majority of the race making a very entertaining main event for the Dallas crowd. Stewart closed in on Justin Bogle during the tail end of the race and made a pass right after the whoop section. The two riders collided during the pass and caused both riders to lose positions. Stewart reentered the race in 9th position with only a few laps to go. He quickly made a few more passes to move up to 6th place by the end of the race. His teammate, Larsen, started the race inside the top ten and rode a consistent pace to finish 8th overall for the night.
JDR/J-Star/KTM Team Manager Nathan Ramsey, commented, “Overall we are excited that both of our team riders finished inside the top ten tonight. However, we know that both riders are capable of finishing inside the top five and we are looking forward to the next round for another chance to finish up top.”
Next Round: Atlanta, GA – February 25, 2012
Overall Results SX Lites –
- Justin Barcia
- Darryn Durham
- Ken Roczen – KTM
- Blake Wharton
- Phil Nicoletti
- Malcolm Stewart – KTM
- Jake Canada
- PJ Larsen – KTM
- Cole Thompson
- Lance Vincent – KTM
- Alex Martin
- Hunter Hewitt
- Austin Politelli
- Justin Bogle
- Blake Baggett
- Les Smith – KTM
- Angelo Pellegrini
- Sean Hackley – KTM
- Matthew Lemoine
- Kyle Cunningham