San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart finished 4th at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta after an exciting and frantic eighth round of seventeen in the AMA Supercross series (also an FIM World Championship). The Floridian engaged in a fight for the win with Chad Reed throughout the twenty lap main event watched by over 69,000 spectators and a thrilling finale was denied on the final circulation when the two collided and crashed trying for the same line and both Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey were able to capitalise.
Stewart and Reed were clearly the fastest competitors around a tight course inside the Atlanta venue for the first meeting away from the west coast of the country. Both were vying for track space with small mistakes limiting their capacity to make a break away. Stewart moved past the Australian with one lap remaining but Reed hounded the back of the YZ450F and attempted an aggressive block pass several corners before the chequered flag, despite entering the turn several bike-lengths behind. In the ensuing chaos both were able to remount and Reed found a way to gain the last step on the podium.
Disappointed, Stewart – who has finished off the podium only twice in 2011 – could only mention on his Twitter account that he ‘never saw it coming’ and also added ‘now I am just looking forward to Daytona. The bike and team were great. I’ll be back for another day of racing.’
JGR Yamaha’s Justin Brayton crossed the line in 7th position while team-mate Davi Millsaps was 11th. Stewart now stares at a 10 point deficit to standings leader Villopoto while Reed is 11 adrift of the Yamaha man in third spot. Round nine will take place next weekend at the Daytona International Speedway.
2011 AMA-SX United States
Georgia Dome 28/02/2011 20 Laps
race I
1 Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 15’50.894
2 Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 0’03.339
3 Chad Reed Honda AUS 0’03.997
4 James Stewart Yamaha USA 0’04.102
5 Trey Canard Honda USA 0’19.076
6 Andrew Short KTM USA 0’19.547
7 Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 0’24.637
8 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0’30.590
9 Ivan Tedesco Kawasaki USA 0’31.720
10 Brett Metcalfe Suzuki AUS 0’36.072
11 David D Millsaps Yamaha USA 0’40.851
12 Nicholas Wey Yamaha USA 0’47.956
13 Kyle Regal Yamaha USA 0’50.539
14 Chris Blose Kawasaki USA -1Laps
15 Tye Simmonds KTM USA -1Laps
19 Antonio Balbi Yamaha BRA -2Laps
AMA-SX World Standing
Rider Standings After Race 8 of 17
1. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 171
2. James Stewart Yamaha USA 161
3. Chad Reed Honda AUS 150
4. Trey Canard Honda USA 146
5. Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 145
6. Andrew Short KTM USA 110
7. Brett Metcalfe Suzuki AUS 104
8. Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 90
9. David D Millsaps Yamaha USA 88
10. Ivan Tedesco Kawasaki USA 78
11. Kevin Windham Honda USA 75
12. Nicholas Wey Yamaha USA 63
13. Kyle Regal Yamaha USA 60
14. Chris Blose Kawasaki USA 48
15. Mike Alessi KTM USA 46
16. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 46
18. Weston Peick Yamaha USA 24
19. Thomas Hahn Yamaha USA 17
20. Austin Stroupe Yamaha USA 15
25. Vince Friese Yamaha USA 12
28. Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 5
31. Jeff Alessi Yamaha USA 3
32. Antonio Balbi Yamaha BRA 2
Crowd:
69, 517
Weather:
Dry
Lap Record:
0’52.919
(Ricky Carmichael , 1/1/2006)
Last Years Winner:
Ryan Dungey
Manufacturer Standings
28/02/2011
1 Yamaha 173
2 Kawasaki 171
3 Honda 168
4 Suzuki 156
5 KTM 110
