Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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News of James Stewart's injury spread quickly through the Phoenix pit. Reigning THQ AMA Supercross Champion Chad Reed, for one, expressed disappointment upon hearing that Stewart was out of action. "I waited a long time to get a chance to race against Bubba," Reed said. "No one wanted to race against him more than me. He is a great athlete, and a great rider, and if what they are saying about him is true, then it is a real bummer." In case you think Ricky Carmichael isn't serious about honing his technique even sharper than it already is, dig this: Carmichael is looking to use MotoGP timing practices to see if he can cut his lap times further. "I'm looking at some things from MotoGp," Carmichael said. "They're a little more specific on timing, and where you're losing time and this and that. That's what we're trying to do. I think we're all at a point where we're pretty close in talent and speed, so you have to fine tune. With those [MotoGP] guys, two-tenths will put you from first to fifth, where here it is a little more spread out. Uke I said, we [Carmichael, Windham and Reed] are so close, all three of us. The talent is pretty much the same. We just need to find where everybody else is better." With all the hype surrounding James Stewart Jr., Chad Reed, Ricky Carmichael and Kevin Windham, it's easy to forget that there are other riders capable of earning podium positions in the 2SOcc class if a little good fortune comes their way. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Sean Hamblin is one such rider, but he says he's looking to make his own fortune. "I've got a good group of people behind me, and hopefully that will transfer on, and I'll have the results to show for it," the 22-year-old Hamblin said. "I've got a new trainer, and I've been training my ass off. I fee' good. Everything is right. Now it's just time to go out and ride." Hamblin also said that lack of training was not what caused his lackluster consistency. I've still got some things to work on." One of those things is how to retain the series points lead. Windham still holds the edge over Carmichael, 47-45, heading to Anaheim II. "I never have [led the 250 series points). and now that I am, I think that with 14 rounds left, now is the time just to cruise and protect my points lead," Windham joked. The day wasn't all smiles and giggles, however, as the most highly anticipated four-rider battle in supercross history was reduced to three when Team Kawasaki's young superstar, James Stewart Jr., slammed heavily into the face of a tabletop during practice. Stewart suffered a fractured left forearm in the crash, and his return to the series is questionable (see sidebar). Stewart's absence was a disappointment to all three podium finishers. "Like Chad [Reed] said, you'd be a fool to wish something like that on somebody or to want something to happen like that," Carmichael said. "It's a shame, you know? Our sport needs the hype. That's what everybody is wanting to see. But if I was James, I would try to look at it on the bright side, like, 'Hey, you know what? It happened. Now at least I'll be ready for the outdoors,' rather than having it happen at Seattle or something, where you lose the Supercross title and you ruin yourself for the outdoors. You've got to be optimistic. I hope he gets better. He's young, and he's got plenty of years to do things. It's just a shame that happened." Nor was Reed particularly jovial about losing more points to the two men who are now likely to be his toughest obstructions on the road to a successful AMA THQ Supercross title defense. Reed's third-place finish was a marked improvement over his 16th-place finish at the Anaheim opener, but he remains over 20 points behind leader Windham in the AMA THQ Supercross Series points standings. Reed currently sits ninth, with 25 points. "But it's a hell of a lot better than what it was last weekend," Reed said. results in 2004. That's something that a lot of critics cited. "I don't think that a lack of training had anything to do with it," said Hamblin, who was actually working out on his spin bike in the pits as he spoke. "I think it had a lot to do with support and the people that are behind me. Suzuki did their best to give me the best equipment and everything, and they definitely worked their asses off to do it, but I think that the support group that I've got now definitely makes it less stressful. When you're in that kind of rig, you've got a lot of added pressure on you. But I don't discount anything Suzuki ever did for me. I thank them up and down. But now it's just time to go out and ride." Bubba Speed Secret? When asked if he would mind turning the bars on James Stewart jr.'s factory Kawasaki KX250SR so that it could be photographed for a Cye/e News Bikes of the Stars feature, Kawasaki director of pro racing Bruce Stjernstrom politely declined. "We have to keep them turned like that," Stjernstrom said. "We Continued on page r9 CYCLE NEWS • JANUARY 26, 2005 17