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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Team Kawasaki's James Stewart s James Stewart is taking his lie in the tough 250 class o far, the 2005 outdoor season has been a tough one for Team Kawasaki's James Stewart. Following a year of straight-up domination in the 12Scc ranks in 2004, Stewart is winless in the first four rounds of AMA 250cc National Motocross Championship Series and has actually only finished in two of them. In the two races he did not finish, Stewart pulled out, complaining that he felt light-headed. In the two races where he has stayed the course, however, he has finished on the podium. QUitting is not something that anyone has come to expect from Stewart. After all, he has won a championship every year since turning Pro in 2002. So what has been the cause of the seemingly out-of-nowhere fall from grace that 19-year-old Stewart has been going through? Is it his 250 two-stroke? His inexperience in the premier 2S0cc class? Or was he Simply not prepared? One easy answer might be that Stewart is just paying his dues. Since this is your first year in the 250 class what are some of the similarities and differences that you have noticed from the 125 class to the 250 class? There are definitely a lot of differences. The races are a little bit longer and stuff. Then, just the power of the bike and everything is a little different. I actually think I won more races in the 125 class, as far as considering outdoors [rather than supercross]. But we are just making progress, getting better every week, and getting stronger and stuff. I'm having a lot of fun. By BRENDAN LUTES lOS BY FRANK HOPPIN D STEVE BRUHN Coming off of a successful ending to the supercross season, was your confidence pretty high going into outdoors? Yeah, for sure. I thought things would be a little bit different. I knew it would be tough. I knew Ricky [Carmichael] would be good, and also Chad [Reed] would be good, and also Kevin [Windham]. I did do really good in supercross, considering being hurt and coming back in the middle of the season when all of those guys have been racing all year. I thought it would be a little bit tougher. But I got a few wins in, and then going into the outdoors, my confidence was definitely high. Ever since Houston, I've kind of been hurt with my wrist. Then at Vegas I hurt my thumb, and then at the first race I got sick. 50 it has just been kind of nagging injuries, and I'm not really recovered. I haven't been going at it 100 percent since I've been racing outdoors yet. But like I said, just every week I get off and every time I get out on the bike I'm getting better at it. When you are out on the track, it always seems you find creative lines, like at Budds Creek when you prejumped that drop-off downhill. How do you always manage to be so much more creative then everyone else? I mean, honestly, all my prejumping and finding different lines is just to try to make up the difference [from a two-stroke to a four-stroke]. I have to be able to push a little bit harder than everybody else going down the hills and be able to go into the corners a little bit faster than everybody else, because I'll get pulled going up the hills. So I definitely make up different lines and stuff. The prejumping thing before that drop-off was just a desperate act conSidering... trying to make up a little time, but actually it worked out. That was the most fun section of the track out there, jumping all the way down that. Do you think you are at a disadvantage riding the two-stroke? I mean, I definitely think so. I think they [two-strokes] are [a disadvantage], but we have the best two-stroke out there. Kawasaki does have the best two-stroke, for sure, out there. I think it is definitely an advantage riding the 450, which we are working on trying to get. Everybody has an option, from RiCky to Kevin to all of them, everybody has the option to ride a two-stroke or a 450, and everybody is riding a 450 right now. When do you think you are going to be getting the 450 four-stroke? 36 JULY 13, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS