Yoshmiura Suzuki’s James Stewart wins again in St. Louis and passes a career milestone.
On a night in which he had little to lost but much to gain, Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart reached another milestone by carding his fifth Monster Energy AMA Supercross win of the year at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri, tonight.
The 28-year-old Stewart got off to a good start and then ran down three-time and defending series champion Ryan Villopoto to not only record win number five–and his third in a row–but also to further etch his name in the AMA history books. With the win, Stewart becomes the only rider besides seven-time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath to reach the 50-win plateau in the 40-year history of the series.
“That’s unbelievable,” Stewart said. “You guys really don’t understand. I used to watch Jeremy McGrath on videotapes, and it is such an honor to be even close to him. I’m just a kid from Haines City, Florida, who wanted to be like my dad. He rode motorcycles. I wanted to be just like him. I would have never, never thought that I would be one of the best, second all-time in Supercross. It’s unbelievable.”
What wasn’t so unbelievable was how the hot-riding Stewart performed or who he had to battle to earn the win. For even though he was just one race removed from the mysterious illness that hampered him at the series’ previous round in Toronto, the Monster Energy Kawasaki-backed Villopoto always seems to be a contender—you don’t earn three consecutive titles any other way.
“Last week was a real struggle,” Villopoto said before the race. “We woke up in the morning with bad stomach pain, and it got so severe that I had to go get checked out. They [doctors] didn’t come up with much, but I was able to come back and salvage what I could.”
Villopoto did more than that in St. Louis. MotoConcepts Suzuki’s Mike Alessi pulled yet another holeshot to lead the 22-rider 450cc main event field into turn one, but Villopoto was right there with him, as were Stewart and Muscle Milk Honda’s Justin Barcia, who was able to pass Stewart and secure third place early. Villopoto quickly made his way past Alessi for the lead on lap one, and Stewart repassed Barcia and took over third place at the start of lap two.
Alessi proved to be a pest to Stewart, however, and it cost the two-time Supercross Champion precious time as he tried to find a clean way past Alessi. Stewart finally found it in the first long rhythm section after the finish line jump, and he took over second place and set out after Villopoto, who had already pulled clear by 2.4 seconds.
Stewart looked every bit as fast and fluid as he did in claiming his fourth win of the year at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, least weekend, and he quickly cut into Villopoto’s lead by posting lap times as much as three quarters of a second faster than the three-time and reigning Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion could muster.
But catching Villopoto and passing him were two different chores. Stewart waited until lap eight before putting the pressure on Villopoto, and he made one attempt to pass in a left-hand corner after a triple jump, but Villopoto refused to leave him an opening. Stewart then appeared to be frustrated, and he got out of shape in a couple spots on the track as he tried to set up Villopoto.
Stewart finally got the opening he was looking for on lap 11, and he used the same rhythm section where he had passed Alessi earlier. Stewart slid up underneath Villopoto in the left-hand turn, and although the two never made contact, Stewart’s position prevented Villopoto from making a clean corner, and Villopoto relinquished the lead.
“You know, in the heat race I was kind of following him [Villopoto], and I felt like maybe I was a little bit faster than he was in a few sections,” Stewart said. “I was able to see his lines in the heat race, and I didn’t want to get around him and show him where I could pass him. He rode great. I just saw him going outside and I tried to leave him some room. It was a little bit closer than I thought, but we’re racing for race wins.”
And what was Villopoto’s response? He let Stewart go. Villopoto had made it perfectly clear even before the night began that he wasn’t about to engage in a heated battle with anyone and potentially jeopardize is monstrous series points lead.
“It’s a long season, and I put myself in the beginning of the season where I am right now, with a 25-point lead,” Villopoto said. “If it’s there we’ll take it, for sure, but if not we’ll be smart. We didn’t put the work in at the beginning of the season to mess it up now.”
Regardless, there was no stopping Stewart, who flew across the finish line 2.57 seconds ahead of Villopoto.
“We fought, that was a tough one,” Stewart said. “To do it, three in a row, that’s awesome. I’ve kinda done it every way this year.”
Villopoto was more than satisfied that he had accomplished what he set out to do, bring it home in one piece in the main event.
“I thought it was good,” Villopoto said of his performance. “We got a great start. I got into the lead there, and I felt like I was riding pretty good. The whoop section and that left-hander after the whoops…I felt like I was losing it there, you know. It seemed like I was decent everywhere else on the track, but I was, for sure, slow there. He was able to make up the time and get underneath me before the whoops. Overall, we’re in a great spot, and I couldn’t be happier, especially after the weekend we had last weekend.”
Barcia held off Red Bull KTM teammate Ken Roczen to finish third, 5.1 seconds behind Villopoto, for the second weekend in a row. Afterward, Barcia said that he was happy with third place but not satisfied.
“I’d like to win,” Barcia said. “Everyone wants to win. It was a good night, though. The track was gnarly, but my bike was really good tonight. I had a lot of fun. I definitely want to get up with those guys. James and RV are running a really strong race. I was just a little off tonight.”
Far less happy was Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, who saw his championship hopes suffer what may turn out to be mortal blow when he crashed while trying to pass teammate Roczen for fourth place on the last lap. Dungey also gathered up JGR Yamaha’s Justin Brayton, who was running sixth. Instead, Dungey and Brayton finished ninth and 10th respectively, with returning Honda riders Trey Canard and Eli Tomac slotting into fifth and sixth place respectively, just ahead of RCH Soaring Eagle Suzuki’s Josh Hill. BTO Motorsports KTM’s Andrew Short was eighth.
With AMA Eastern Region 250cc Supercross series points leader Adam Cianciarulo suffering a shoulder injury last weekend in Toronto and then undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery earlier in the week, the pressure is on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate, Martin Davalos, to finish what the team had started and bring home the Eastern title. Davalos finished second to his main title threat, GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle, in the Toronto main event, but he also took over the series points lead at the same time. St. Louis would give the two another chance to square off against each other and possibly set the tone for the remaining East rounds.
Davalos got off to a great start in the 15-lap main event, followed by CycleTrader Yamaha’s Alex Martin, with Bogle emerging from the rest of the 22-rider field to run third. It took Bogle another two laps to get around Martin for second place. By then, Davalos had a 2.3-second lead.
The battle for third tightened up quickly, as Matt Lemoine passed Martin, who then had to deal with Honda rider Vince Friese and brother Jeremy Martin. That running order changed spectacularly when Alex Martin got out of shape in a rhythm section, took out Friese and seriously balked brother Jeremy, who nearly ran over him. GEICO Honda’s Matt Bisceglia took advantage of the melee to move up to fourth place, but that quickly turned into third when Lemoine dropped out of the race on lap seven. Bisceglia wouldn’t keep the last podium spot for long, however, as Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett, who was tearing through the field after another bad start, passed him for the spot on lap eight.
Davalos continued to lead, but Bogle was able to move onto his Davalos’ rear wheel with six laps to go, only to make a mistake in a whoop section and lose several bike lengths in the process. Lapped traffic was also beginning to take its toll on both Davalos and Bogle, who once again ran down Davalos on the last lap, setting up a last-lap battle for the win. Bogle tried to set up Davalos for a last-corner block-pass, but there was just too much distance between the two frontrunners, and Davalos was able to get off the corner before Bogle could block him. Davalos escapes and earned his second career 250cc Eastern Region Supercross win.
“I just focused on riding my own laps,” Davalos said. “Justin [Bogle] was riding great. The whoops were really, really sketchy, and I caught up [to] a lot of lappers, so it was tough to stay focused and not make a mistake. Justin caught me at the end a little bit. I was able to manage to win. I’m so happy and so happy for my team.”
Davalos now leads Bogle, 134-119, in the Eastern Region points standings.
There was a tense moment in tonight’s program when GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn took a horrific tumble in a rhythm section on lap two of the first 450cc heat race. The race was red-flagged one lap later so that the Asterisk Mobile Medical crew could assist Hahn, who was conscious and alert. Hahn was transported to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis where he was diagnosed with a broken right humerus [upper arm] bone.
The Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series moves back to the Western Region for round 14 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, April 5.
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series
Edward Jones Dome
St. Louis, Missouri
Results: March 29, 2014 (Round 13 of 17)
450 Main
1. James Stewart-Suz
2. Ryan Villopoto-Kaw
3. Justin Barcia-Hon
4. Ken Roczen-KTM
5. Trey Canard-Hon
6. Eli Tomac-Hon
7. Josh Hill-Suz
8. Andrew Short-KTM
9. Ryan Dungey-KTM
10. Justin Brayton-Yam
11. Nick Wey-Kaw
12. Mike Alessi-Suz
13. Chris Blose-Hon
14. Jimmy Albertson-Hon
15. Cody Gilmore-Kaw
16. Ben Lamay-Yam
17. Nick Schmidt-Hon
18. Ronnie Stewart-Suz
19. Killian Rusk-Yam
20. Tevin Tapia-Suz
21. Augie Lieber-Suz
22. Weston Peick-Suz
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (After 13 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Villopoto-268/3 wins
2. Ryan Dungey-233/1 win
3. James Stewart-232/5 wins
4. Ken Roczen-215/2 wins
5. Justin Brayton-196
6. Justin Barcia-176
7. Andrew Short-166
8. Broc Tickle-126
9. Wil Hahn-122
10. Chad Reed-111/2 wins
250 Main
1. Martin Davalos-Kaw
2. Justin Bogle-Hon
3. Blake Baggett-Kaw
4. Kyle Cunningham-Hon
5. AJ Catanzaro-Hon
6. Cole Thompson-KTM
7. Matt Bisceglia-Hon
8. James Decotis-Hon
9. Alex Martin-Yam
10. Gannon Audette-Kaw
11. Vince Friese-Hon
12. Landen Powell-KTM
13. Jackson Richardson-Hon
14. Zack Williams-Hon
15. Jesse Wentland-Hon
16. Levi Kilbarger-Hon
17. Justin Starling-Hon
18. Luke Vonlinger-Hon
19. Aaron Gulley-Kaw
20. Jeremy Martin-Yam
21. Matt Lemoine-Kaw
22. Gavin Faith-Hon
AMA 250cc Eastern Region Supercross Series Points Standings (After 7 of 8 rounds)
1. Martin Davalos-134/2 wins
2. Justin Bogle-119/1 win
3. Blake Baggett-100/1 win
4. Adam Cianciarulo-95/3 wins
5. Vince Friese-86
6. Cole Thompson-79
7. Kyle Cunningham-76
8. James Decotis-67
9. Alex Martin-60
10. Matthew Bisceglia-58
Matthew Lemoine-58
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