JGR Yamaha’s James Stewart earned his first main-event win of the 2012 AMA Supercross season with an impressive night of riding in Oakland, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 28. He started by taking his fourth consecutive heat race victory, then put together a near-perfect 20 laps aboard his YZ450F in the final to take top honors over rivals Chad Reed, Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey. Stewart’s 43rd career win jumps him to fourth in the standings with 13 rounds left to go in the series.
“James rode really well all day,” praised Yamaha Supercross team manager Jim Perry. “I was glad to see that the hard work of the JGR team and James looks to be paying off.”
In the premier Supercross class, Stewart capitalized on a favorable gate position to arrive at the first turn inside the top five. He powered into third behind Chad Reed and Andrew Short by the second lap, and then moved into second on lap three. Soon the top three – Reed, Stewart and Villopoto – were locked into tight formation. Finally on lap nine Stewart took control of the race from Reed and started building up a gap, lap by lap. The advantage grew to nearly five seconds on lap 17, from which point Stewart was able to cool it and sail to a comfortable 2.4-second victory – his first for the JGR team. “I would like to dedicate this win to my mechanic, Mark ‘Tex' Adams, who passed away this week,” Stewart said. A car struck Adams after he stopped to help a stranded motorist in Florida. “I had a tough couple of races this year, and tonight I got it done."
| Supercross Results |
| 1 |
James Stewart - YAM |
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| 2 |
Chad Reed |
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| 3 |
Ryan Villopoto |
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| 4 |
Ryan Dungey |
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| 5 |
Andrew Short |
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| 6 |
Kevin Windham |
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| 7 |
David Millsaps - YAM |
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| 8 |
Jake Weimer |
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| 9 |
Justin Brayton |
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| 10 |
Josh Hansen |
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| Standings After 4 of 17 |
| 1 |
Chad Reed |
85 |
| 2 |
Ryan Dungey |
85 |
| 3 |
Ryan Villopoto |
83 |
| 4 |
James Stewart - YAM |
73 |
| 5 |
Jake Weimer |
61 |
| 6 |
Kevin Windham |
58 |
| 7 |
Andrew Short |
52 |
| 8 |
Josh Hansen |
47 |
| 9 |
Brett Metcalfe |
45 |
| 10 |
David Millsaps - YAM |
42 |
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In the Lites West class, Monster Energy Yamaha’s Zach Osborne and Star Valli Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes finished 3-4 in one of the most exciting races of the year on their YZ250Fs. Osborne is now third and Sipes is now 10th in Lites West points.
With just nine rounds in the Lites West championship, competition is superheated in every round. Osborne has become a major star for Yamaha this season, and he excelled once again on Saturday, posting the second-quickest practice qualifying time, finishing his heat race in second, and then rocketing to a top-five start in the 15-lap Lites West final. He passed Martin Davalos for second place behind leader Eli Tomac on lap six, and then vigorously fended off attack after attack from rivals Davalos, Jason Anderson and Marv Musquin. Ultimately, Musquin was able to make a pass stick, and Osborne finished on the podium in his final Supercross Lites appearance this year. He soon returns to Europe to prepare for the 2012 MX2 world championship.
| Supercross Lites Results |
| 1 |
Eli Tomac |
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| 2 |
Marvin Musquin |
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| 3 |
Zack Osborne - YAM |
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| 4 |
Ryan Sipes - YAM |
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| 5 |
Matt Moss |
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| 6 |
Travis Baker |
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| 7 |
Nico Izzi - YAM |
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| 8 |
Max Anstie |
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| 9 |
Martin Davalos |
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| 10 |
Dean Wilson |
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| Standings |
| 1 |
Eli Tomac |
88 |
| 2 |
Dean Wilson |
73 |
| 3 |
Zack Osborne - YAM |
67 |
| 4 |
Marvin Musquin |
64 |
| 5 |
Tyla Rattray |
60 |
| 6 |
Cole Seely |
57 |
| 7 |
Jason Anderson |
53 |
| 8 |
Nico Izzi - YAM |
46 |
| 9 |
Max Anstie |
45 |
| 10 |
Ryan Sipes - YAM |
43 |
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