Moto Media

What happened to James Stewart at Houston?


Round 13 of the 2013 AMA/ FIM World Supercross Championships at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday night was not the best of races for Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing's James Stewart even though he put in in a solid heat race and was running in a podium position in the 450 class Main Event before having to retire from the race.

Returning from a two-week break, where Stewart and the Yoshimura Suzuki team focused on preparing for the 2013 AMA Pro Motocross season, Stewart got a decent start in his eight-lap heat race and moved quickly into third position. Unfortunately, a red flag was thrown on lap two and the race was restarted in staggered formation with Stewart in third. After the re-start, the Yoshimura Suzuki rider quickly maneuvered his RM-Z450 into second. Although he ran a little off course at one point and landed on a tuff block, he held on to finish second.

Said Stewart: "In the heat race, I was riding pretty good and somebody went down. Whenever you see a red flag you know someone has gone down and that sucks. So we restarted and I was riding really good, we were starting to close in on the leader, but I jumped on one of the hay bales and that bent my shifter. I could've pushed it but I decided not to take any chances."



In the 20-lap Main Event Stewart overcame a poor start with smooth yet aggressive riding and moved into fourth position. Biding his time, the Yoshimura Suzuki rider stalked third place and then took over the position at the mid-way point of the event. Unfortunately, shortly after, he went down and damaged his front wheel and was unable to finish the race.

"The Main Event didn't go like we hoped it would," added Stewart. "I didn't get a good start but I made some great passes and made my way up. I was in third and we were going at it pretty good. But I ended up washing-out the front end and I jacked up my front wheel. (Editor: Commentators said he lost his front brake) Overall, we made some great progress with the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 and it was running great. It was the fastest bike out there in the whoops. These weren't the best results, but we worked great together as a team and that's what counts. Now we're just looking forward to racing at Minneapolis next weekend and testing for Motocross."



A tough night for James Stewart and the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing Team . . . Check out the behind the scenes action of the 2013 Houston AMA FIM Supercross event. James scored 2nd place in his heat race after bending his shifter when he landed on a tuff block. The team was concerned of damage to the shaft so they did an engine change in less than 30 minutes prior the main. After an OK in the start in the main, James rallied his way up to 3rd and was battling for 2nd when he lost the front end. He was unable to continue due to a mechanical issue with the front wheel. Check out the out-takes between James and team manager, Mike Webb after the final credits.