VOL. 51 ISSUE 40 OCTOBER 7, 2014 P25
Rumor has it that, pending
Stewart's appeal, WADA has
recommended a two-year ban
for Stewart from racing in FIM
events. With Stewart set to turn
29 in December, a two-year ban
could effectively end his racing
career. And if you're thinking that
two years seems harsh for a first
offense - especially considering
that Stewart reportedly has a le-
gitimate prescription for the med-
ication - remember that WADA
is the same organization that
stripped the overall gymnastics
gold medal from Romanian An-
dreea Raducan a week after the
2000 Sydney Olympics for tak-
ing a cold medication, at the rec-
ommendation of her trainer, for a
severe cold, and this despite the
fact that even the International
Olympic Committee stated pub-
licly that they didn't believe the
cold medication gave her any
sort of an advantage.
In other words, WADA es-
sentially sees any failed test,
for anything on their list, to be
"cheating" and over-punishes as
a deterrent.
Well, after months and months
of legal negotiations, the word in
the pits at the Red Bull Straight
Rhythm is that Stewart will finally
be having his case heard on Oc-
tober 23 in Geneva, Switzerland
- five days after the Monster En-
ergy Cup. It's unclear if the de-
cision will be handed down that
day, or later, but Stewart's ride at
Suzuki depends on the results.
After all, he's contracted spe-
cifically to race AMA Supercross
and AMA Motocross, and a ban
from Supercross would force him
to violate his contracts.
And there's a lot more than just
Stewart waiting for the results, as
without Stewart on the team, Yo-
shimura Suzuki would likely want to
sign another racer to team up with
2015 450cc rookie Blake Baggett.
Racers up for this possible spot in-
clude 2010 250cc West SX champ
Jake Weimer, a rider without a con-
tract for 2015. So if Weimer were to
ink a deal with Suzuki, he would be
coming in with a clean slate, mak-
ing the whole signing process fairly
simple.
There's no doubt Suzuki wants
Stewart back, however. Stewart
scored five wins this year in Su-
percross - second only to even-
tual champ Ryan Villopoto - and
was a contender for the title for
the first part of the series.
A safe bet is that we should
all know for sure what's going to
happen by early November.
Steve Cox
BAGGETT TO SUZUKI
F
ormer AMA 250 National Motocross Champion
Blake Blaggett will be switching teams and gears
for the 2015 Supercross and Motocross season. A
long-time member of the Monster Energy/Pro Cir-
cuit/Kawasaki organization and 250-class competi-
tor, Baggett has joined the Yoshimura Suzuki Fac-
tory Racing Team and will move up and compete full
time in the 450 class. Baggett is no stranger to the
Suzuki brand, as he spent time on the yellow brand
earlier in his racing career.
Baggett will join returning rider James Stewart on the team.
"I'm really excited to be a part of the Yoshimura Suzuki racing
team for the 2015 Supercross and Motocross seasons," Baggett
said. "Testing on the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 has been going
great and I'm looking forward to racing the bike for the first time at
the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas."
Blake Baggett
will make his
Yoshimura
Suzuki Team
debut at
the Monster
Energy Cup in
Las Vegas on
October 18.
continued on page 26
