STEWART PODIUMS AT ST. LOUIS SUPERCROSS

2013-03-04 19:32
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing's James Stewart celebrated an impressive podium finish at round nine of the 2013 AMA/ FIM World Supercross Championship at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on Saturday night.

In a round fraught with controversy and a Main Event re-start, Stewart turned in an honorable performance and raced his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to a solid second-place finish.

For Yoshimura Suzuki's Stewart, the St. Louis round started out positively: Although he took a nasty tumble in practice, he was once again the fastest qualifier in the premier 450 Supercross class. He went on to get the holeshot in his heat race and then led all eight laps to take the win, marking his fifth heat race win of the year.

Said Stewart: "The heat races started off good. We got a great start on the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 and got around on the inside and we won that. I was still trying to loosen up a little bit from the practice crash, but overall it was pretty good."

In the Main Event, Stewart again got a good start and took the lead, but a crash in the first few laps resulted in a re-start and an abbreviated 17-lap race. The re-start was a single-file, staggered formation that saw Stewart take the lead again. He led the first half of the race, then held-off the hard-charging competition for several laps and rode safely in the midst of some questionable passing under a flagged section of the track. Stewart went on to dice back-and-forth with the competition, swapping the lead and battling for a podium position. When the dust had cleared, Stewart wound up finishing second.

"In the main event, I got another good start. I was in the top three-or-four so obviously I was happy with that. I was able to make my way into the lead and then a red crossed flag came out... After that, there was some aggressive passes here and there. Overall, I'm happy; the Yoshimura Suzuki team is killin' it right now and we're getting better and better every weekend. I'm just happy to be a part of this team and to be out here racing."

Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing's next event is the 10th round of the 2013 AMA/ FIM World Supercross Championship on Saturday, March 9th at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

St. Louis 450 Supercross Results: 1. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki), 2. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki), 3. Chad Reed (Honda), 4. Ryan Dungey (KTM), 5. Justin Barcia (Honda), 6. Davi Millsaps (Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 7. Mike Alessi (Suzuki), 8. Trey Canard (Honda), 9. Justin Brayton (Yamaha), 10. Andrew Short (Honda).

Source: Team Suzuki Press Office

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