Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 28, 2014 After the Oakland Supercross, James Stewart says he's looking at the big picture and likes what he sees. over a cold, and I felt a lot better tonight. When you know you don't have it physically and you're tired, then you just ride around at a mellow pace, so tonight was better, and next week will be even better." Stewart's runner-up finish didn't come easy, though, as he and the team struggled with bike settings in practice and his best time was an unheard of seventh quickest in qualifying – usually he's the quickest. It's not exactly where they wanted to be but it turned out not to be an indicator of things to come. The team made adjustments and were confident going into the main event. "We kind of struggled all day, but we got the 10 O-clock setup, made good changes, and had a good race tonight. I feel all year that the best I have ridden, even the last two weeks, has been in the main events. That's what I pride myself on; I pride myself on relying on my fitness. Like I said, that flu took it out of me, but tonight is more like how we should be racing. "I'm happy with how I rode, I made a lot of passes," he added. "I knew tonight I had to get a good start, but I didn't do that. My pace, however, was there, and I was closing in on RV, but it was kind of hard to push, you had to really take chances. Eight or nine laps into it, I kicked it up another gear, but Ryan was just too far ahead for me to run him down without taking a chance of going down. Unfortunately, I put myself in that position. I ended up making a mistake in the whoops on lap 17 and lost some time and just settled for second, but that was good and we got some points. "Obviously, Ryan pulled away, but if we keep being consistent like this we'll be there to take it." One deciding factor in the race was the much talked about quad jump, which pretty much separated the men from the boys. Stewart was one of the few to jump it consistently, and it allowed him to catch and pass Chad Reed – who also cleared the jump but not as regularly as Stewart - near the end of the race. "The quad - I'm giving Wil Hahn credit for jumping that first. He sacked up and did it, so I jumped it in the main," said Stewart. Another obvious difference from the first three races was the track, which offered good traction for a change, compared to the slippery hard-packed conditions of the previous Phoenix and two Anaheim tracks, although after practice, Stewart went to the AMA, questioning the whoops, which most riders considered to be dangerous. "The whoops this year, the way they've been building them, have been dangerous," Stewart said. "They've been building them really steep. You can build them tall, but when they're really steep and guys miss them, then guys endo. So in practice, I told them they P79 were going to get people hurt, so they changed them and it was better." Had it not been for his crash and subsequent DNF at the series opener, Stewart would be in much better shape in the series standings, although we are only four races into a 17-round championship. After Oakland, Stewart is sixth in the standings, 18 points out of first. "You take away that crash at A1 and we're on the podium three out of four races, so over the last three races I've been really consistent," said Stewart. "I'm looking at the big picture and when we go back to the east coast, I think we'll get stronger as I get over this cold and my fitness comes around." Stewart's chances of winning this year will certainly increase when the series moves back east. However, he's been around long enough to see the big picture, and as far as he is concerned, his placing after the last race of the series in Las Vegas is the only thing that matters. "The difference for me this year and me a few years ago is I honestly don't care if I don't win a race this year, as long as I win the championship," said Stewart. "When I'm out there racing, I'm managing where I'm at. I'm managing my situation; I'm managing points, and all that. I know I still have that 'James Stewart' speed, and I know I have the fitness, and when I'm in the zone, I feel like I'm going to be tough to beat." CN

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