Page 41 - MPG18

theGRIT
IMAGE/WONDERGOAT
What is left to say that hasn’t already been said about James Stewart’s 2016 racing season? He came into practice at Hangtown looking to be in somewhat better condition than he had previously displayed during SX, but his comfortability on the track was a long shot from the flashes of distorted brilliance
seen through an Instagram filter recently. Stewart never looked completely comfortable all day long, but he still managed to clock the 8th fastest time overall by throwing down a 1:57.3 in the first practice session. The race rust took hold of the Yoshimura Suzuki rider when the gate dropped on the first moto; he failed to grab a start inside the top ten and he lingered around mid-pack on the very first lap of action. Stewart found himself in 13th position as he crossed the finish line for the first time with Rockstar Husky’s Jason Anderson hot on his heels. Anderson was absolutely flying all day long, practically matching the pace of Roczen and Dungey, which allowed him to pull away from the number 7 Suzuki. Meanwhile, at the front of the race, Canard tucked the front in turn 3 and ended up picking up his bike up just in front of Stewart. He thought he had the drive up the hill to stick his yellow fender up the inside of Canard’s HRC machine, but he wisely backed out. In an attempt to stick with the two riders heading towards the front of the pack, Stewart made a huge mistake just after the mechanics area (one of the roughest areas of the entire track). He got out of shape on the brakes and couldn’t get his bike situated for the corner before the finish line, therefore sending himself over the berm with the bike soon to follow. The 450cc machine landed on top of him in a brutal collision that put James on the back of the medical mule with a sling slumped around his left arm. It was an eerily similar end result to the SX opener at Anaheim, except this this time there was no outside involvement from any other riders. It’s tough to see the look of anguish and despair on the face of a rider who continues to face an unstoppable wave of misfortune. Hopefully, the injury isn’t as serious as it looked, because the series is always richer with the number 7 on the line.
words/LAKEKILPATRICK
WWW.GRITMOTO.COM
41