Cycle News

SUPERCROSS ROUND 2 / JANUARY 16, 2016 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA / PETCO PARK P50 MONS TER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Briefly... Yoshimura Suzuki's James Stewart just can't seem to catch a break. After missing the entire 2015 season due to a failed drug test for a medication he has a legitimate prescription for, he came into Anaheim last week ready to do battle, only to get T-boned in a racing accident by Ryan Dungey. The crash knocked Stewart unconscious, which put him into the AMA's concussion protocol. This protocol requires that all racers take a test for mental acuity as a baseline, and then after being suspected of suffering a concussion, they are tested again and the results are compared to their base- line test in order to determine if they're okay to race or not. Stewart passed the test and was cleared to race in San Di- ego, but he pulled out after two practice sessions. A source close to the team indicated that Stewart felt that things were just coming at him a bit too fast, so Stewart believed his brain isn't quite ready yet, regardless of the tests. It was a smart move that Stewart may not have made in the past. The "old James" may have chosen to try to race anyway, then crashed out of the race and made the problem even worse. This new, 30-year- old James Stewart instead opted to heal up some more and give it a run again at Anaheim next weekend. "We went through the process with the testing and he passed with flying colors," said Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager Mike Webb. "I talked with the Asterisk Medi- cal guys and they said clearly there was no issue with the testing. We left it up to James to feel it out and tell us how he felt once the blood got pumping and the adrenalin gets going. The first session he was okay and picking up the track, but in the second session he just wasn't comfortable. There was no way we were going to take a chance with his health. We want him to take a couple more days of recovery and we'll get him back on the bike later in the week." Autotrader.com/Monster Energy/JGR Yamaha's Weston Peick was on-hand in San Diego despite not being allowed to compete because of his now famous beating on Vince Friese after Friese took Peick out for the second time on the evening last week in Anaheim. Peick was fined $5000 and suspended for one race for the altercation, and he issued an apology during the week. But the truth is that he seems to have popular support in the pits for doing to Friese what many others have wanted to do because of multiple past incidents that involved Fri- ese. The funny thing is, though, that al- though Peick was penalized for "actions detrimental to the sport," the fight made it onto sports and news networks around the country and was used in the opening to the San Diego Supercross TV cover- age on Fox Sports 1, which begs the question: If the actions are detrimental to the sport, why are these same ac- tions being used to promote the sport? Peick has handled the extra attention well, though, and was spotted taking "fists up" boxing-style pictures with fans during the team autograph session, and was the celebrity starting assistant for the Wienercross event during intermis- sion, where a bunch of Dachshunds raced down the start straightaway while wearing jerseys representing some of the sport's top racers. The blue num- ber-28 Dachshund won. AutoTrader.com/Monster Energy/JGR Yamaha's Justin Barcia will sit out a big chunk of the supercross series with a thumb injury. He actually injured the thumb leading up to the Anaheim 1 Supercross (which explains his subpar finish there) and has elected to have surgery on the thumb. Barica said via an Instagram post: "Well unfortunately my season has come to a quick end. I injured my hand the week before A1 and will undergo surgery this week. It's a tough pill to swallow with how hard I worked this year. I was ready to be in the mix for race wins I tried to race but it's just not realistic with how bad the pain is. Thanks to my team, family, fans and everyone that has stuck behind me. I will be back ASAP." The night did not end well for 450SX team member Justin Bogle, who won his Semi qualifying race for the second- straight week. But on lap 13 of the 450 main event, Bogle went down after a huge triple jump, and got up slowly. He was unable to finish the race. "The day went okay and I was feeling good," said Bogle. "Was able to get the semi win again which I was pretty pumped on. In the main I got a bad start and was feeling pretty good riding wise before a crash ended my night. That's about all I have to say about the main!" Bogle is banged up but expected to compete with the rest of the team this upcoming weekend at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. GEICO Honda's Jordon Smith had a breakthrough ride at San Diego. It was the first time that the second-year pro finished out a supercross on the podium. "My day went really well, I'm so happy," said Smith. "I felt comfortable all day throughout practice and into the night show. My GEICO Honda pulled me to a really good start, and I was able to get out front early. Last week I got to experience racing toward the front, and I got to do that again here and learn how to lead. I tried to ride my own laps, but I got a little tight in the middle of the moto. Just learn- ing. I went back to third, but I'm happy I was able to pull it back together and got a strong podium! Overall it was a great night and now I can't wait for Anaheim 2!" Overall, it was a pretty good night for the GEICO Honda squad. Christian Craig also enjoyed his best finish ever in super- cross with a fourth. He was also top 250 qualifier in the first session. "Last week was not me, I rode tight," said Craig af- ter the qualifiers. "This is where I want to be: up front." After the main event, he said, "I got a terrible start, but I tucked to the inside in the first turn. I don't know where I came out, but it was toward the front. I rode around, got tight around lap five and started making a lot of mistakes. I wasn't happy with that, but I held on, got fourth. It's a career-best for me, but I want to get on the podium, and I'm not going to be happy until I get there."

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