James Stewart successfully erased the painful memory of his DNF in Los
Angeles last week and ruled the second round of seventeen in the 2009
AMA Supercross series (also an FIM World Championship) in Phoenix on
Saturday.
The 23 year old gained the lead on his San Manuel LandM YZ450F Yamaha
before the end of the opening lap after overtaking rookie winner and
brand-mate Josh Grant, who had aced the holeshot at Chase Field.
Stewart then worked hard to defend his advantage from reigning
champion Chad Reed to obtain his first chequered flag in blue colours,
watched by almost 47,000 spectators.

“My goal was to try to win the race and I was able to do that, so it
was good,” he said. “I just wanted to ride better than I did last
week.”

“It is nerve-wracking but at the same time, I just had to be composed
and ride in my own head,” he commented regarding his close duel with
Reed. “That’s the only way I can get it done. Obviously he was riding
good; he had better parts than I did, and I had better parts than he
did. The crowd was going wild and I knew when he would get close.”

It was the third consecutive triumph for Stewart in Phoenix and the
perfect response to his mishap seven days earlier in which he missed a
gear exiting a corner and was involved in a collision with Reed.

“There is still a long way to go and a lot of work to do,” he said.
“If we just think about each weekend and I win races then eventually
the points will come. The championship is definitely not going to be
given to me and I know I have to work for it. After last weekend,
having the bobble that I had, I don’t think it was anybody’s fault,
but I do think I put myself in a small hole and I have to dig myself
out.”

Grant collected third position for his second podium result in a row
and after just two race appearances in the Supercross class. The
youngster leads the championship by three points over Reed, with
Stewart now starting to make ground and stands seventh. “As long as my
starts continue to be this good, I should be fine. I had fun racing
with the guys up there, and I can’t thank the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing
Yamaha enough for what they’ve done for me,” Grant said.

West Coast Lites champion Jason Lawrence had a crash in his qualifying
Heat and could not make the cut to the main event.

Round three takes place next week and heads back to the
Anaheim stadium in LA.

Race 1 – 20 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, James Stewart, Yamaha, USA, 17’37.908
2, Chad Reed, Suzuki, AUS, 0’0.591
3, Josh Grant, Yamaha, USA, 0’28.232
4, Ivan Tedesco, Honda, USA, 0’35.193
5, Andrew Short, Honda, USA, 0’41.241
6, Kevin Windham, Honda, USA, 0’55.127
7, Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, USA, -1 Laps
8, Josh Hill, Yamaha, USA, -1 Laps
9, Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, USA, -1 Laps
10, David D Millsaps, Honda, USA, -1 Laps
11, Mike Alessi, Suzuki, USA, -1 Laps
12, Charles Summey, KTM, USA, -1 Laps
13, Paul Carpenter, Kawasaki, USA, -1 Laps
14, Travis Preston, KTM, USA, -1 Laps
15, Nicholas Wey, Yamaha, USA, -1 Laps
16, Robert Kiniry, Kawasaki, USA, -1 Laps
17, Josh Hansen, Honda, USA, -1 Laps
18, Daniel Blair, Honda, USA, -2 Laps
19, Troy Adams, Honda, USA, -2 Laps
20, Matt Boni, Honda, USA, -8 Laps

Rider Standings 10/01/2009

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points
1, Josh Grant, Yamaha, USA, 45
2, Chad Reed, Suzuki, AUS, 42
3, Andrew Short, Honda, USA, 38
4, Ivan Tedesco, Honda, USA, 33
5, Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, USA, 30
6, Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, USA, 30
7, James Stewart, Yamaha, USA, 27
8, Kevin Windham, Honda, USA, 21
9, David D Millsaps, Honda, USA, 20
10, Mike Alessi, Suzuki, USA, 20
11, Paul Carpenter, Kawasaki, USA, 19
12, Nicholas Wey, Yamaha, USA, 18
13, Josh Hill, Yamaha, USA, 18
14, Heath Voss, Honda, USA, 14
15, Benjamin Coisy, Honda, FRA, 13

Manufacturer Standings 10/01/2009

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, Yamaha, 50
2, Suzuki, 42
3, Honda, 40
4, Kawasaki, 32
5, KTM, 10

Yamaha Racing Communications

www.yamaha-racing.com