James Stewart injury updateAfter winning his heat race by almost thirteen seconds San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart was unable to toast a home victory at the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on Saturday night. An incident through the rhythm section after the first turn in the Main Event left the former champion unable to continue and nursing a sore back.Round eleven of seventeen in the AMA Supercross series returned to Florida and although Stewart was in good form during the practice sessions across a new layout, a tight entry to the series of jumps after the opening curve saw the 25 year old fall in what was a scary accident. Initially it was feared that former champion had dislocated his hip but a message sent from his team after a medical check indicated that he hopes to be in contention for next week’s event in Canada. "I was really hoping to pull this one out,” Stewart said. "It was my home state, I’m familiar with the tracks, all my fans were cheering me on and it’s just really disappointing. It’s all about Toronto and the rest of the season now.” Copy courtesy of Yamaha Racing.
... and from his website JS7 With familiar dirt, a stadium full of JS7 fans, and the fastest lap time in practice, it looked to be game on! However, by night’s end, a different script would be written. Read on to find out what happened…
Supercross Qualifying Heat • After dominating the timed practice/qualifying session with a 44.5 second lap time, James faced off with series points leader and rival Ryan Villopoto in Heat Race #2. • Stewart grabbed a top-five start in his heat, allowing him to cruise to a seemingly effortless victory ahead of Villopoto and the rest of the pack. • During his dominant Heat Race, James set the fastest lap time of the night with a 43.478. Supercross Main Event • Notably, series rival and points leader Ryan Villopoto was unable to make the main event due to crashes in both his heat race as well as the LCQ, potentially leaving the door open for Stewart to gain serious momentum in the points hunt. • James came out swinging for the main, rounding the first turn fairly close to the front of the pack. • Unfortunately, James and several other riders were caught in a pileup on the very first straightaway, with Stewart receiving the worst of it. James got sandwiched in between two bikes and was in obvious pain, unable to get back up and continue the race. Rumors of James’ condition immediately began flying through the pits, though none of them were confirmed by night’s end. See for yourself ... here is the first 8 minutes of the race. |
