Hill, Stewart Podium at Anaheim II

2010-01-25 10:19
After a furious night of Supercross racing, Josh Hill and James Stewart – in his only appearance aboard his personally designed YZ450F – put their L&M Racing Yamahas into second and third place on the podium at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. on Saturday night, Jan. 23. Their results in the hottest race of the year boosted Hill from third up to second in points behind race winner Ryan Dungey, and leapt Stewart from seventh to fifth in the standings with three of 17 rounds completed. What’s more, the big YZs occupied five of the top 10 positions for the night, with Justin Brayton, Michael Byrne and Ivan Tedesco finishing sixth, ninth and 10th, respectively. Meanwhile in Supercross Lites West, Yamaha riders put four YZ250Fs into the top 10, led by Frenchman Gautier Paulin and Englishman Max Anstie in six and seventh, Travis Baker in ninth and Broc Tickle impressively in 10th after crashing on the first lap and then passing half the field.

Given the drama of last week’s Phoenix round, where Stewart suffered a pair of hard crashes, no one was quite sure what to expect in Anaheim. But the defending Supercross champion led his heat before being passed by Hill for a 1-2 Yamaha heat-race finish. Then as the gate dropped for the 450 main event, rival Austin Stroupe narrowly took the holeshot over Stewart, only to have the No. 1 plate holder rip past him moments later, shortly followed by Hill to make it two Yamahas up front. Riding in severe pain, Stewart led a four-rider lead pack including Hill, Dungey and Andrew Short while defending against Hill’s constant attacks, until Hill got by with a blaze of speed through the whoops on lap six. It was then Hill up front, with Stewart and an aggressive Dungey close behind. The pace continued unabated, with numerous crowd-pleasing challenges and passes until lap 14, when Dungey took over the lead for good, forging a narrow advantage over Hill and Stewart at the flag.

"About lap 12 I ran out of gas," admitted Hill later. "I had to kind of settle for second, but I was pumped to be in a battle for the lead." Riding with a painfully sore wrist, Stewart too felt the heat of the Anaheim II battle. “After eight laps I couldn't hold on," he grimaced. "Ryan and Josh were just on it – I couldn't keep up with them." Yamaha Supercross team manager Jim Perry added, “James Stewart showed his true championship form by giving it 100 percent at Anaheim II to get on the podium.”

As for that James Stewart-designed YZ450F? As announced by Yamaha on Jan. 8, a replica, outfitted with Bubba’s custom graphics and GYTR racing components, will be awarded on May 23, 2010. Consumers may enter the sweepstakes at www.yamaha-motor.com/yz450fgiveaway or by texting YZ SXR to 76477.





2010 AMA Supercross Points 1/23/10
Pos. Rider Points
1 Ryan Dungey 72
2 Josh Hill – Yamaha 57
3 Ryan Villopoto 52
4 Andrew Short 52
5 James Stewart 51

Source: Yamaha Motor Corp

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