Team Suzuki Press Office – July 8. Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s James Stewart turned in a flawless ride over the Fourth of July holiday weekend racing his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to an overall podium finish at the festive AMA Pro Motocross Championship RedBud National in Buchanan on Saturday.
The weekend’s race saw Yoshimura Suzuki’s Stewart celebrate his independence by picking up his first podium finish since the season-opening round. Unhampered by the bad luck that has plagued him much of the season, Stewart got a good start in the first moto and methodically moved through the field, picking off the competition until he finished second. In the day’s second moto, Stewart got the holeshot and led several laps before again finishing an impressive second. When the dust had all cleared, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Stewart finished second overall for the day.
“I had a great ride today,” said Stewart. “Starting with a solid practice to just going faster throughout the day. I haven’t been on the podium since Hangtown so it felt good to put the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 up there again. The first moto went pretty good. I had to come up and pass a few people and as I was settling into third, I inherited second when another rider went down. In the second moto, I pulled the holeshot and led a few laps, but I could tell some other guys had better lines and they got around me. Then I could see their lines and I started closing back up. Then I got into lappers and started losing some time, but overall, the pace was good and I was feeling great out there. It was a big confidence booster and we’ll build on this as we take the next week off and then come back for Washougal.”
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s next race is round eight of the 2013 AMA Pro Motocross Championships on Saturday July 20th at the Washougal National in Washougal.
2013 RedBud MX 450 Results: 1. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki), 2. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki), 3. Josh Grant (Yamaha), 4. Trey Canard (Honda), 5. Justin Barcia (Honda), 6. Justin Brayton (Yamaha), 7. Malcolm Stewart (Honda), 8. Andrew Short (KTM), 9. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki), 10. Broc Tickle (RCH Suzuki).
