Stewart strikes back!
Published: 14th January 2008
Author: Pondo
After Chad Reed won a muddy Anaheim One, James Stewart came out and ground his way to the win at Phoenix…
But, truth be told, all the action was in the MX2 class - Jake Weimar got the holeshot, but Ryan Dungey and Broc Hepler both managed to shove their way through in the same move, before embarking on an epic duel of passing and re-passing. But as the leading pair fought tooth and nail for the lead,, each with a section of track they favoured over the other, a pack of four other riders snuck up and launched their own plans for victory - Weimar, Metcalfe, Brayton and Lawrence started to edge into the frame as Dungey and Hepler repeatedly went back and forth. As the race reached the halfway mark, the action began to intensify - Dungey and Hepler both began to make mistakes, while Weimar was sat there ready to sweep up, with his cause aided massively by the leading pair backing out of his way, and then Metcalfe and Lawrence coming together - J-Law and Metty had been battling hard and swapping places, but their collision dropped Metcalfe back a ways, and Lawrence out of the lead battle altogether. Heading into the closing laps, Weimar was leading from a closing Dungey - Weimar was in control, but Dungey was all over him as the race wound down. Heading into the final lap, Dungey was clearly aiming for a pass in turn four, where he’d been quick all night, but Weimar had it covered, with a bit of over-exuberant throttle causing him to square the turn more than planned, blocking Dungey more than he’d intended and gifting himself the deserved win after the shock of DNQ’ing just a week before. Dungey brought the Makita Suzuki home in second to consolidate his championship lead, whilst Metty put a Pro Circuit KXF250 on the podium for the first time this year, with the crowd on their feet applauding an incredible race.
In contrast to the adrenalin-fueled MX2 race, though, the MX1 was all about edgy suspense… Mike Alessi got his first Suzuki holeshot, but the Stewart-Reed freight train blew right past him seconds later, and the Apple Valley youngster very shortly caused carnage when he accidentally dragged a tuff block into the landing zone from a big double, a good many riders going down, although without any apparent injury. The pile-up allowed Grant Langston to make some good progress following a terrible start to the race, but the factory Yamaha rider was soon hit by the sort of appalling luck he‘s struggled to defeat during his career and had to retire with a rear suspension failure. Up front, in the meantime, Reed was playing an effective role in keeping James Stewart honest - although reigning champion Stewart logged the fastest lap time, in the 20 lap main the rate was about 50:50 as to who was fastest each lap. But in the end, it was Stewart, who seems to be displaying a newer, smarter approach in ‘08, who kept the bike shiny side up to seal the win and tie Reedy for the series lead
The news has already broken, it seems, that the Motocross des Nations is scheduled to head back to the UK later this year. It’s a great thing that the UK gets the world’s biggest motocross race just 24 months after we last had it, although there have been a few concerns (not least this writer’s) raised about viewing at the Donington venue - let’s hope they cut out the big restricted areas and move the fencing right next to the track, you can’t beat having the crowd in the faces of the riders for boosting the atmosphere…