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IMAGE/JACKEDWARDS
James Stewart left Red Bull Straight Rhythm last year with an inflated level of confidence after he
went head-to-head against Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen and bested the both of them. Stewart’s tendency to hold it wide open paid off as he blitzed through the whoops at warp speed and temporarily
reclaimed his title as ‘The Fastest Man on the Planet’. Since that triumphant return to competitive dirt bike racing that followed his suspension by the FIM, it has been nothing but heartbreaks and setbacks for the Yoshimura Suzuki rider. He struggled to find that same gear during the off-season races and he looked underprepared in comparison to previous years of competition. Mistakes were made, injuries flared up, and he was forced to back out of the Aus-X Open - an event which would have had him pitted up against his long time rival, Chad Reed. Therefore, Stewart came into the 2016 SX season in questionable condition and things couldn’t have gone any worse in the first main event at A1. The eventual champion, Ryan Dungey, came together with Stewart in a bowl turn; the collision sent him hurling towards the hard packed California dirt and knocked him out instantly. The rest of the series was plagued with half-hearted comebacks tethered by concussive symptoms and nagging injuries. Stewart finally decided to shift his focus to the outdoors after taking a hard hit at the St. Louis SX in mid April, but there’s no telling if the month between now and then was enough time off to heal up and get in race shape for a couple of 30 minute motos. Stewart may have more to prove and more to lose this year than ever before; fans clamor about how he’s over the hill and there are rumors of turmoil within the Suzuki team regarding the bike as well as a future contract. The number 7 Suzuki rider will be one of the biggest question marks on the gate at Hangtown and he’ll be looking to show the world, on any given day, he’s still ‘The Fastest Man on the Planet’.
JAMES STEWART
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GRITMOTO • MAY.23.16