Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart’s Toronto Victory Puts Him Second on All-time SX Wins List
OutdoorHub 03.28.14
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s James Stewart celebrated what might have been the most spectacular ride of his career at round 12 of the 2014 AMA/FIM Supercross Championships at Canada’s Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, on Saturday night. The Yoshimura Suzuki rider turned in a brilliant performance, overcoming a lackluster start and blasting through the field on his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to capture his 49th career Supercross victory. This feat moved Stewart ahead of former Suzuki rider Ricky Carmichael into second place on the premier class’ all-time wins list.
Stewart came into Toronto having won there in 2005 and 2009, and he was eager to pick up another victory. After turning the fastest lap time in the day’s practice sessions, the Yoshimura Suzuki rider went out and holeshot his heat race and led all six laps to take his eighth heat race win of the season. In the 20-lap main event, however, Stewart suffered a poor start and was outside the top 10 at the end of lap one. But proving his mettle once again, Stewart pushed his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to its very limits and charged through the field to a podium position. But that wasn’t enough for the championship-winning rider, who went on to pick off second place and then claim the lead and the win. This result marks Stewart’s fourth win of 2014 and his second set of back-to-back wins this season. Additionally, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Stewart leads the field in the overall number of laps led, as well as heat race and main event wins for the year.
“I’m kind of speechless right now,” said Stewart after the race. “We had an issue in the heat race but I went back and told the team what was wrong and they straight-up fixed it. I was able to come back out for the main event but I got a horrible start. I didn’t think I had a chance to win – I was just trying to get up and gain a few points. But I just kept going, going, going on the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450, and the next thing you know, I was in third. I was catching the leaders and making passes and I was able to get up in the lead. And for me, to break Ricky Carmichael’s record with a ride like that, it was pretty awesome. Now we’ll just go to St. Louis and see if we can win some more races.”
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s next event is the 13th round of the 2014 AMA/FIM Supercross Championships on Saturday, March 29th, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO.
Toronto 450 Supercross Results:
1. James Stewart
2. Justin Barcia
3. Ryan Dungey
4. Justin Brayton
5. Ken Roczen
6. Ryan Villopoto
7. Weston Peick
8. Dean Wilson
9. Josh Hill
10. Matthew Goerke
2014 450 Supercross Standings:
1. Ryan Villopoto – 246
2. Ryan Dungey – 221
3. James Stewart – 207
4. Ken Roczen – 197
5. Justin Brayton – 185
6. Justin Barcia – 156
7. Andrew Short – 153
8. Broc Tickle – 126
9. Will Hahn – 122
10. Chad Reed – 111
Check out the Toronto “Behind The Scenes Race Report”:
