James Stewart Takes Anaheim One Supercross

With a new bike, new number and new style, it's certainly a new beginning for James "Bubba" Stewart. He is now 3 for 3 in the World Supercross GP Series, and took the first victory of the AMA Supercross Series tonight in Anaheim. In a much more patient, smooth style than we've seen before from the Kawasaki rider, Stewart took a solid victory after a three-way battle with Ricky Carmichael and Chad Reed in the main event. Truly, one of the more exciting Supercross races we've seen, this year's series opener will certainly go down in the books.

"Hopefully it was an exciting race for you guys. It was a fun race for me!" Stewart said on the podium. About his collected riding style, Stewart said, "I'm not going to push anything or force anything. I want to keep myself in a position to win the title."

Supercross Class

Kyle Lewis got the hole shot in the first heat of the night. Chad Reed went down in a big pileup in the first turn. Lewis was followed by Tim Ferry, now aboard the number 15 Honda, but Ferry went down shortly after in the whoops. Stewart, though he had a back-of-the-pack start, was quickly making a blitz toward the front. On the second lap, Mike Larocco went down in a rhythm section, adding to the list of top riders in the back of the pack. Stewart quickly made his way out front, and from there, ran away with it. David Vuillemin crept his way up through the pack, looking nearly invincible on his BooKoo Honda CR250, and made his way past Lewis for second.

A truly impressive ride came from Chad Reed, who started nearly dead last after getting tangled in the first turn crash. It looked like he was headed to the Semis, but within minutes, he was back in the top five, and on lap seven, was within striking distance of Vuillemin. Reed eventually made the pass on DV, but by then Bubba was gone, having run away with a tremendous lead.

A lot of people comment on the lack of "close racing" in Supercross—when they're talking about the top two or three riders, they're usually right. But don't forget there's an entire field out there behind the lone leader, and plenty of close racing, as Heat 2 of the Supercross class certainly showed.

Travis Preston got the holeshot, but it was Carmichael who quickly took control of the race and proceeded to check out. Behind Carmichael was a near seven-way battle for second between Ernesto Fonseca, Michael Byrne, Travis Preston, Ivan Tedesco, Heath Voss and Jeremy McGrath. The pack stayed tight until Byrne tangled with Tedesco shortly after the finish line jump, and the two went down in a heap. McGrath eventually broke free from the pack late in the race and was in third behind Fonseca, but the former champ went down in the whoops shortly after, handing third over to Nick Wey. Travis Preston and Heath Voss rounded out the top five at the finish, while downed riders McGrath, Tedesco and Byrne headed to the Semi.

The Semi races saw more exciting battles. In Semi 1, Mike Larocco and Subway Honda's Jason Thomas battled it out for the lead. Iron Mike took the checkers and Solitare Honda's Ryan Clark finished third. Tedesco, Voss, Byrne and McGrath put on another show in Semi 2. Tedesco and Byrne had a repeat battle for second, this time behind Heath Voss who held the lead for the first half of the race until a bobble in the whoops let Tedesco by. Voss finished second behind Makita Suzuki's Ivan Tedesco, followed by Byrne and McGrath. Rockstar Suzuki's Mike Brown took the last qualifying position of the Semi, shutting out Tyler Evans in the battle for fifth.

Supercross Main Event

Kyle Lewis took the holeshot of the main event, and Ernesto Fonseca and Ivan Tedesco were also out front at the start once again. But all eyes were still on Ricky and Bubba, both in the middle of the pack. The crowd went wild watching the two battle side by side for sixth place in the early laps of the race.

Tedesco stalled in a corner, relieving him of second place, then Fonseca crashed handing the lead to Reed. Now, at last, it was the big three out front. The show everyone was waiting to see exactly one year ago was finally under way. The three stayed within split seconds of eachother for several laps. Reed was out front while Carmichael held off Stewart in third. Ricky made a dash for the lead on lap seven and was now in the lead. Half a lap later, however, he lost it in the whoops, handing the lead back to Reed, letting him and Stewart get away. Larocco and Fonseca also got past Carmichael before he got his 450 relit.

Stewart and Reed, now in their own race nearly half a lap over the rest of the field, continued their battle. Stewart got around Reed for the lead at the halfway point, and began to put a buffer behind him. Reed stayed in a strong second, and Carmichael eventually made it around Fonseca and LaRocco to take third.

"That was a shame," Ricky Carmichael said on the podium of his crash, "I just wanted to get a good drive through the whoops and I missed one. I'm really disappointed in myself, but I'm glad for my safety."

Overall Results - Supercross Main Event
1. James Stewart
2. Chad Reed
3. Ricky Carmichael
4. Mike Larocco
5. Ivan Tedesco
6. Ernesto Fonseca
7. Nick Wey
8. Travis Preston
9. Michael Byrne
10. David Vuillemin
11. Jeremy McGrath
12. Mike Brown
13. Kyle Lewis
14. Jeff Gibson
15. Justin Buckelew

Supercross Lites

Honda's Andrew Short took control of Heat 1 inside the first half a lap. He made quick work of the rest of the field and proceeded to check out, leaving Nathan Ramsey and Michael Sleeter to battle for second place. Nathe Ramsey finished second followed by Brett Metcalfe who worked his way through the pack to finish third. Danny Smith and Michael Sleeter rounded out the top five.

Mike Alessi's Supercross debut started off strong as the young KTM rider grabbed the holeshot in Heat 2. Honda's Paul Carpenter kept him on a short leash, however, and got around him for the lead. Alessi stayed on him and the two battled for the lead position, meanwhile, Monster Kawasaki's Grant Langston was creeping up from behind. Carpenter had secured the lead, and did some more battling with his former teammate, Langston, who also got around Alessi. By the third lap, Langston had control of the race and took it to the finish with Carpenter and Alessi in tow. Billy Laninovich and Eric Sorby completed the top five, respectively.

Lites Main Event

Arenacross Champion Darcy Lange took the holeshot of the Lites main event, followed by young Monster Kawasaki rider Ryan Villopoto. Top MXGP rider Andrew McFarlane, in his AMA Supercross debut, followed in third. Metcalfe and Langston went down in the whoops of the first lap, and it was Ryan Villopoto in the lead at the green flag. Laninovich made a dash to the front, making quick work of McFarlane and Lange, with Andrew Short nipping at his heels.

Mike Alessi had a horrible start; he, Metcalfe and Langston had the long task ahead of them working their way through the pack. Alessi went down in the whoops on lap five, knocking him back even further, while an impressive charge by Langston had him back in the top five within the first half of the race.

Short made it past Villopoto for the lead on lap nine, with Laninovich following in third. The field spaced out from there, with all three taking their positions to the finish. Grant Langston eventually made his way back up to fourth, where he finished followed by Darcy Lange who rounded out the top five.

Overall Results - Supercross Lites Main Event
1. Andrew Short
2. Ryan Villopoto
3. Billy Laninovich
4. Grant Langston
5. Darcy Lange
6. Paul Carpenter
7. Jason Weimer
8. Brett Metcalfe
9. Mike Alessi
10. Eric Sorby
11. Andrew McFarlane
12. Nathan Ramsey
13. Jesse Casillas
14. J. Brayton
15. Akira Narita

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