Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128312
T H Q AMA 1 S c c Eastern Regiona l 2 S u perc r oss Series thing, I think through the amateu r ranks, too." He ple r grabbed the main-event ho leshot fro m the far outside after qualifying through th e LCQ and immediately put some room between himself and the rest of the field. Stewart was seventh in the first turn, and So rby rounded the first lap ninth. " From the beginning, I didn't have a very good gate pick, but my Suzuki came through from the outside and got me to a great start," Hepler said. Stewart wasn't wo rried. " I didn't think I was in any rush ," Stewa rt said of his poo r start. " I'm rea lly confident this year, and I'm not wo rrie d abou t getting tired , so I wanted to make some smart passes out the re . The re was actually a coupl e of times on t he first lap that I tangled with someone in t he air, but I knew Broc was o ut fron t and I had to make my way up." Heple r knew Stewa rt would be coming sooner or later. "No matter how good you are, you can't get every holeshot and lead every lap," Hepler said. " But I knew James would be coming . He could start fro m last and still come up through. I just had to wait and see how long I could hold on." Stewart was fourth to end the first lap, sec ond to end the sec o nd lap, and took over the lead throu gh the w hoops on lap three, demoting Hep le r to seco nd. "Pretty much in th e whoop section, I felt pre tty strong all weekend," Stewart said. "You know, this year, [I've do ne] a lot of training and st uff, so I'm o ut t here, and I just do n't get tired. I knew if I had to co me from th e back, I'll be strong the whole race ," Afte r he to o k ove r, Hep ler ke pt him in sight fo r a litt le while befo re Bubba just checked out. "I got a litt le ne rvous those first co uple laps, but the n James got by me, and I co uld follow his lines for a co uple of tu rns ," laughed He ple r. " I got a co uple lines fro m him and just rode smart and hit all my rhythm sect ions to finish off in se co nd place," O nce Stewart got out of vie w of Heple r, he really started pulling away. After doi ng wh ipped one-handers th ro ughout the race and then slowing to show o ff eve n more on the final lap, Stewa rt still won by a solid 21 seconds. His pe rformance really begs th e question, Why isn't he racing against Reed and (Above) Stev e Lamson rode throu gh from be hind for fourth. (Right) Stew art can sp ra y champagne, but he ca n't drink it for another three y ea rs in mo st states . (Below ) Ryan Clar k made his 12Scc debut a solid one w ith a top -five on his pr ivoteer YZ2 S0 F. (Below ) Brett Metcolfe w ork ed his way a ll the way up to fourth until running into Sorby and falling. He recovered fo r seventh. 24 FEBRUARY 25 , 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 4 0th Anniversary