AMA-SX: Stewart closes on series lead with third victory

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RACE REPORT 25/01/2009 Stewart closes on series lead with third AMA win Houston Podium James Stewart raced to his third straight victory in just his fourth appearance in the AMA Supercross series with the San Manuel LandM YZ450F Yamaha. The 23 year old conquered the fourth round of the 2009 contest (also an FIM World Championship) at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas; the first time the '09 competition had left the west coast of the USA. Taking the win In front of a little more than 48,000 spectators Stewart started reasonably well and was fourth around the opening turns. He needed another two laps before he relegated Ryan Villopoto and was then able to control the remaining 17 circulations in the 16 minute sprint. The 2009 edition was the 44th Supercross meeting to be held in Houston with Pierre Karsmakers winning the inaugural event in 1974 with a Yamaha. Stewart's success increased Yamaha's tally to 15 triumphs in the State since the mid-1970s. In taking the chequered flag he also registered the 27th AMA SX win of his career. "The bike was definitely better this weekend," he said. "I just felt more comfortable when we first got here, and we changed some stuff, and it's coming along. I think it was definitely a better weekend for me, and I'm just going to try and keep on improving and see what happens." Josh Grant Supercross class rookie Joe Gibbs Racing's Josh Grant finished fifth to maintain his streak of a top five finish in each round so far. "I told myself coming into this season that I wanted to be top-five every weekend, and so far, I've been better than that," he reflected. "We had two good races at the beginning, and that's about it, but the last two tracks, I haven't really felt comfortable on, so for me to not feel comfortable on a track and still get top-five and still ride the way I've been riding is good." James Stewart Stewart has risen from fourth to second in the standings and now lies just 9 points behind leader Reed. Grant is in third place but level on points with his brand-mate. Round five takes place next weekend at the ATandT Park in San Francisco. Circuit Length: n/a Crowd: 48, 277 Weather: Dry 2009 AMA-SX Houston, TX 25/01/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 James Stewart Yamaha USA 16'45.374 2 Chad Reed Suzuki AUS 0'9.787 3 Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 0'14.364 4 Andrew Short Honda USA 0'18.490 5 Josh Grant Yamaha USA 0'24.809 6 Ivan Tedesco Honda USA 0'28.060 7 Mike Alessi Suzuki USA 0'31.428 8 Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 0'33.838 9 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0'40.082 10 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'42.851 11 Josh Hill Yamaha USA 0'44.486 12 Heath Voss Honda USA 0'54.668 13 Paul Carpenter Kawasaki USA -1 Laps 14 Cole Siebler Honda USA -1 Laps 15 Matt Boni Honda USA -1 Laps Rider Standings 24/01/2009 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Chad Reed Suzuki AUS 86 2. James Stewart Yamaha USA 77 3. Josh Grant Yamaha USA 77 4. Andrew Short Honda USA 71 5. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 68 6. Ivan Tedesco Honda USA 62 7. Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 56 8. Kevin Windham Honda USA 53 9. Mike Alessi Suzuki USA 46 10. David D Millsaps Honda USA 42 11. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 37 12. Paul Carpenter Kawasaki USA 37 13. Heath Voss Honda USA 30 14. Nicholas Wey Yamaha USA 26 15. Benjamin Coisy Honda FRA 22 Manufacturer Standings 24/01/2009 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 100 2. Suzuki 86 3. Honda 78 4. Kawasaki 70 5. KTM 13 Yamaha Racing Communications Hoogte Kadijk 61hs / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470 E. office@yrc.nl W. http://www.yamaha-racing.com