Stewart takes win number three of 2011 at packed Anaheim

TwoWheelMania • February 7, 2011 • 0 Comments

Stewart takes win number three of 2011 at packed Anaheim The second visit of the 2011 AMA Supercross series – also an FIM World Championship – to the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Los Angeles saw San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart maintain his 100% podium record on the YZ450F by taking his third victory from the five rounds of seventeen held so far.

The Floridian scored his second successive victory and took his career tally to 40 Main Event triumphs by leading from the first corner to the last. The achievement, earned in front of 45, 050 spectators, also saw Yamaha head to the top of the pile in terms of manufacturer’s garlands at Anaheim – one of the spiritual homes of the championship – with 20 wins. The 25 year old’s superlative and spectacular quad-quad approach to the rhythm section was risky but helped edge the difference over his rivals.

“You know, I’m just comfortable on my bike this year,” said Stewart who has now taken the chequered flag on nine separate occasions at Anaheim and extends his impressive career stats to 56 podiums from 65 starts. “It’s five races in and I’m just getting comfortable racing. I was a little rusty in the beginning and we’re starting to get a little better and we’ll keep on working. The quad-quad looked cool, but actually it really wasn’t that much faster. I think I was pretty good through the whoops and some other places. The Yamaha is working fantastic and I felt comfortable doing it.”

JGR Yamaha duo Justin Brayton and Davi Millsaps were also in the top ten with Brayton setting a season-best result in 4th and Millsaps finishing 10th. Stewart’s new team-mate Kyle Regal marked his highest score yet with 11th.

Stewart was able to cross the line ahead of Ryan Villopoto (the only other rider to win this year) and now fronts the standings by 5 points. Round six will take place next Saturday at the Reliant Stadium in Houston.

2011 AMA-SX United States
Angel Stadium 07/02/2011 20 Laps

1 James Stewart Yamaha USA 19’01.672
2 Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 0’04.158
3 Chad Reed Honda AUS 0’16.268
4 Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 0’23.978
5 Trey Canard Honda USA 0’25.738
6 Andrew Short KTM USA 0’39.965
7 Ivan Tedesco Kawasaki USA 0’44.787
8 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0’49.818
9 Brett Metcalfe Suzuki AUS 0’53.260
10 David D Millsaps Yamaha USA 0’54.824
11 Kyle Regal Yamaha USA 0’55.086
12 Mike Alessi KTM USA -1Laps
13 Matt Boni Kawasaki USA -1Laps
14 Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA -1Laps
15 Nicholas Wey Yamaha USA -1Laps

AMA-SX World Standing
Rider Standings After Race 5 of 17

1. James Stewart Yamaha USA 117
2. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 112
3. Chad Reed Honda AUS 90
4. Trey Canard Honda USA 87
5. Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 79
6. Brett Metcalfe Suzuki AUS 67
7. Andrew Short KTM USA 64
8. Kevin Windham Honda USA 59
9. Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 57
10. Ivan Tedesco Kawasaki USA 48
11. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 46
12. David D Millsaps Yamaha USA 44
13. Kyle Regal Yamaha USA 38
14. Nicholas Wey Yamaha USA 35
15. Chris Blose Kawasaki USA 31
16. Mike Alessi KTM USA 20
18. Weston Peick Yamaha USA 15
21. Austin Stroupe Yamaha USA 12
23. Vince Friese Yamaha USA 8
24. Thomas Hahn Yamaha USA 7
27. Jeff Alessi Yamaha USA 3