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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CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE I t was recently announced that James Stewart re-signed with Suzuki to race Supercross and motocross in 2016 and beyond. Don't look now, but Stewart turns 30 this year and as fans of Supercross and motocross know, it's tough to get consistent results after the big three-O, so if Stewart can break through that age barrier to win a championship it will be yet another history- making performance. I recently came across an audio interview I did with Stewart and his then mechanic Jer- emy Albrecht in 2002, at round two at Hang- town, at the very beginning of his amazing rookie run in the outdoor nationals, where he won 10 of the 12 AMA 125cc National Moto- cross races to clinch that year's title and be named rookie of the year. He raced for Chevy Trucks Kawa- saki that season. What comes through in this interview is the youthful enthusiasm of Stewart and even though most experts knew he was a special talent, at this points James was still a wide-eyed 16-year-old kid, thrilled to find out he was capable of winning at the na- tional level. He'd won the opening round at Glen Helen with a 1-2 (Mike Brown won the second moto). When Stewart passed former World Champion Grant Langston on the second lap of the first moto at Glen Helen Raceway, to lead in his debut AMA outdoor national, he thought Langston was playing with him. "I thought he was just going to follow me for a while and wait to see if I was going to crash," Stew- art said. "I figured he'd watch me for a few laps and then go back by me." It seems clear by his account of the race that Stewart was still coming to grips with the fact that he was already the fastest 125cc rider in AMA moto- cross. Even Stewart himself found it hard to believe that he won his debut moto by such a large mar- gin. He held as much as a 25-second lead before backing it down in the closing laps after victory was assured. Before practice for Hangtown, where he later went out and smoked the field en route to his second win in as many starts, Stewart opened his locker on the team transporter and a big plastic bag full of junk food, like chips and candy, fell out just as his mechanic Jeremy Albrecht turned the corner. "Uh huh, caught you red handed," grinned Albrecht. "This stuff isn't mine, I swear," said Stewart sheepishly. His eating habits, and claims of innocence notwithstanding, Albrecht was happy to give the likeable youngster the benefit of the doubt. Even though Stewart was a professional athlete, he was still just a shy 16-year-old kid who didn't yet pos- sess a driver's license. After he ribbed Stewart about the snacks the two quickly turned to busi- ness. They start discussing everything from the expected weather for the weekend, riding gear selection and of course bike setup. Stewart's riding style is often described as raw, unadulterated speed. Even longtime motocross ob- servers can't remember when such a young rider WHEN BUBBA WAS A ROOKIE P140 Believe it or not, James Stewart is about to turn 30. It doesn't seem all that long ago that he was just a rookie. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LARRY LAWRENCE