Page 56 - Issue43

MALCOLM STEWART
450 SX / 9TH
IMAGE / LANGSTON WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> Behold, the city of westward expansion, St. Louis, Missouri. A staple in the landscape of the United States of America, this city was chosen for the arch on the premise of being a gateway to the wild, wild, west in the early 1900’s. A land of gold and historic riches awaited beyond the monument (the world’s tallest arch), and many citizens were itching to pass through it to see what there future could bring. It’s the same type of vibe for competitors on the AMA Supercross tour; STL is viewed
as a pivotal stop, where many championship runs have changed, and many first time’s/best finishes have occurred here. The authentic Midwestern crowd, coupled with the utopian-esque soil, makes
for racing like no other, and 2017 was expected to be no different. Malcolm Stewart had patiently awaited this round. Salivating at just the idea of the amount of traction that one could redeem for on this floor of the Edward Jones Dome. A playing field where the throttle could simply twist, and the bike be allowed to gravitate anywhere it wanted, was an idea that competitors could only dream about.
All throughout practice his enthusiasm could be felt under the lens of his goggles, his technique ap- pearing flawless as the track deteriorated like quicksand in the first session. Relaying notes from his textbook arsenal of tricks, you could watch his pupils look 180 degrees around the bowl turn before the whoops, seemingly clicking up a gear while already envisioning his rut throughout the midpoint of the section; and never missing a beat along the way, even if the read end of his chassis would fishtail like the sharks in the St.Louis Aquarium. Replicating his success throughout the day into the evening program, he had secured a spot on the results board to enter the final gate drop. It was now time for him to push the meaningless results of earlier to the side, and focus on what everyone was curious about, the main event. The field would beeline into turn one, 22 of the best bottlenecking, as they would rampantly conquer the first rhythm section. Looking to both his left and right, he was able to gauge his distant rather well over the SX triples, but remained hesitant on throwing the bike sideways in fear of clipping another competitor. He remained patient as he was battling with the best in the busi- ness, hovering in the top half of the field. Making moves in the freight train consisting of Josh Grant, Broc Tickle, Justin Bogle, among countless others. Every time he would garner a bit of momentum,
it would seem as though he would be engulfed in another battle, fighting footpeg for footpeg, a clash of steel and sparks as he would bang into the tuffblocks. Just a few seconds off that of the leaders
per lap doesn’t seem like much, however in the grand scheme of things, it began to add up. It was just so hard to fathom when watching him, as the amount of speed he carried up the over/under jump prior to the finish line was rather phenomenal, pivoting the bike from the left hand before it, back to the right, and then cocking his left metatarsals into the frame, and scrubbing the peg up the face. And after a tip over in the right-hander towards the end of the race, before the dragon’s back, all of his hard work had diminished. You could tell he wanted this position badly, but eighth place loomed him for sometime nearing the finish. With the checkered flag nearing his view, he would go on to cross
the flaggers stand in a respectable ninth place. However, he knew he could continue to build as the series progressed.
56 GRITMOTO • APRIL 2, 2017