t’s no secret that James Stewart fought an uphill battle for most of 2005. After crashing 5 times in the mud at Anaheim I, he went to Phoenix for round two of the AMA Supercross Series and broke his arm. He returned to win every single Supercross he didn’t crash in (3 in total), then headed outdoors and battled sicknesses and inopportune crashes throughout, missing most of the season after landing on Ricky Carmichael at Unadilla.
     He returned on the KX250 for the US Open, but never made it onto the track after getting sick and being taken out of the pits in an ambulance before practice.
     That was less than two months before the opening round of the AMP’D Mobile World Supercross GP Series in Toronto, and not only would he be racing, but he would be racing on a brand-new bike–the KX450F.
     Surely, he wouldn’t be able to beat the unstoppable Ricky Carmichael and 2004 AMA SX champ Chad Reed, right?
     That was a logical assumption, but James Stewart isn’t your average rider.
     After dominating his heat race over RC, Stewart rounded the first turn in the main event just behind teammate Michael Byrne, and got quickly into the lead. But in a flash of his former self, Stewart went down while running away out front.
     “The track was pretty rocky, and I hit a rock going into the first corner,” Stewart said, “but I kept the bike going and just got back around Chad and set my sights on Ricky.”
     Carmichael assumed the lead with Reed second, but Stewart immediately went to work, passing Reed and heading off after Carmichael. He caught Carmichael by the halfway point, and then it seemed as if he began toying with the defending champ.
He passed Carmichael, then inexplicably let him back by.
     “James was obviously faster than me. You guys could see that,” Carmichael said. “He was letting me go. He’d pass me and then slow down and not jump doubles, and I’d go back by him, and I don’t know, I guess he was just playing with me. But if I was him, I’d have just tried to pass me and go on with it.

Yamaha's Chad Reed claimed the third podium spot in both Toronto and Vancouver. (Kinney Jones photo)	Suzuki's Ivan Tedesco made his Supercross debut in Toronto and finished an impressive fourth! He followed suit in Vancouver and again claimed the fourth place position. Not a bad start! (Kinney Jones photo)
Could you really ask for better racing than this? The first 5 or 6 laps of the Anaheim I opener was some of the best and closest racing we've seen in ages! (Steve Bruhn photo)

     Stewart said he merely wanted to stay behind Carmichael because he wanted to learn from him.
     “These races are warm-up races,” Stewart said. “We take ‘em serious, but the more information I can learn from this guy, it’s going to make me that much better. I knew I had to get him before the checkered flag came out, otherwise all that was for nothing. But I felt really strong tonight. I just wanted to sit behind him and follow him around. I didn’t want to get around him and have him follow my lines.”
     And with two laps to go, Stewart made a move stick and took off for the victory. His patience paid off. He has not always been known for patience.
“I think basically that was the old James Stewart–just go out there and race,” said Stewart, who lapped up to sixth place in the 20-lap race. “But I want to go 18 races, and I’m really focusing on the track, watching the videos between practices, and I’m finding some good lines out there that I know with the way the track deteriorates, it’s going to be great toward the end. Ricky messed up there and I didn’t want to land on him–again. But it was a great race. I hope it was good for Clear Channel and the fans out there. It’s the first real Supercross for the KX450 and we got two holeshots.”
     Carmichael hung on for second.
     “Obviously, I think there was [Jeff] Stanton, then Jeremy [McGrath], then myself, and then Chad [Reed] and then Bubba [James Stewart],” Carmichael said. “It seems like every new generation there’s a new style, and I’m just trying to adapt. I really believe that my line selection needs to be a little bit better. Maybe that’s what I need to work on. And I want to stay healthy. It’s a long season. I can go a little bit faster, but you can only do what your bike will allow you to do. I was riding it the best that I could, and it got me second place tonight.”
     Reed finished a rather distant third in his YZ450F debut.
     “We’re here for a reason, and the reality is this is a warm-up race,” Reed said. “We have a lot of things to achieve, and I think we achieved a lot this weekend. Things are going well. They didn’t look so well and they didn’t feel so great, but I think overall it was a good weekend.”
After the top-three repeated in order in Vancouver at round two, they headed to Anaheim Stadium, where both Carmichael and Reed were hoping for a fresh start against their young rival.

Kawasaki's Michael Byrne is riding a consistent season so far, with a sixth place finish in Toronto, fifth place finish in Vancouver, ninth place finish in Anaheim and a sixth place finish in Phoenix. (Kinney Jones photo)	BooKoo Honda's David Vuillemin is new to the THOR team for 2006 and has put in a few solid top-ten finishes so far this season. Look for David on The Reality of Speed, starting in February on SPEED. (Kinney Jones photo)
Ivan Tedesco has continued to put in consistent top-ten rides, finishing fifth at Anaheim I and ninth in Phoenix. (Kinney Jones photo)	After putting down two rather lackluster third place finishes in Canada, Reed turned on the speed at Anaheim I for a second place finish behind James Stewart. The streak continued in Phoenix, where Reed put in great ride for another second place finish. (Kinney Jones photo)

     Reed got off to the best start in fourth, while Stewart and Carmichael sat much further back, and just caught up to 7th and 10th, respectively, by their first time across the line.
     “I got a great jump, actually,” Carmichael said. “My reaction time was awesome. Unfortunately, I spun. I went a little sideways–my line was a little sideways. I lined up on the inside to be protected over there a little bit, but I think my starts are a lot better. None of us really got good starts. I just think it’s a little slump.”
     Stewart did his best to shadow Carmichael through the field–even making a move past RC at one point, only for Carmichael to blitz back by through the whoops as the two of them simultaneously passed Kyle Lewis.
     On lap four of 20, Reed passed Tedesco for second, and then the Carmichael/Stewart train went by shortly thereafter, at which point Tedesco stalled his RM-Z450. Fonseca went down in the midst of the battle for the lead with Reed on lap five, and for the next five laps, Reed led, followed by Carmichael and Stewart. At the halfway point, Carmichael made his move for the lead after Reed cased a triple out of a corner. Only three corners later, Carmichael went down in the whoops.
     “I just got by Chad–he made a little mistake there by the mechanics area, and I was able to get by him,” Carmichael said. “I just tried to get a good run into the whoops, and I felt the faster I could go into them, the better I would be at the end of them. I just missed one, and the rest is history. I went down, and at that point, it was survival and I just had to get back up to the podium. I felt really good. I had a good rhythm going, and I was just kind of taking my time.”

In his first ever Supercross Lites event, young Ryan Villopoto threw down a monster (no pun intended) upset with a second place finish over the rest of the Supercross Lites seasoned pros, along with claiming the Toyota Holeshot Award. Villopoto followed up his stellar debut with a fourth place finish in Phoenix. (Kinney Jones photos)
The highly anticipated AMA season opener in Anaheim saw Kawasaki's James Stewart continue his winning streak from the Canadian rounds, followed by Yamaha's Chad Reed and Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael. (Kinney Jones photo)

     “I almost hit him!” Stewart said of RC’s crash. “Those whoops were tough tonight. Clear Channel and Dirt Wurx did a good job tonight getting the track ready. The track was definitely tough tonight, so I was right behind him when he did it.”
     From there, it was a two-horse race, as Stewart began to hound Reed for the lead until Reed bobbled in a rhythm section and Stewart went around the outside of him.
     “Toward the end, I had some small problems with the rhythms and some sections of whoops, but we’ll fix that next week,” Reed said. “But I felt good on the bike. It felt good to go out there and do two or three jumps that I hadn’t done all day in the main event. I felt like I had a good rhythm, and it was going to be a good race for the three of us. Unfortunately, Ricky went down, and about that time, James caught up to me and there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. What was fun for me was to get out there and show some of what I could do.”
     From there, Stewart went on to a seemingly easy victory, followed by Reed about 10 seconds back. Carmichael recovered for third in the race. But Stewart says he doesn’t like to look at it as though he has won three races in a row.
“I don’t look at it that way,” Stewart said. “I look at it that I just want to go to every race and do my best. I’ve had a good season so far, three races into it, and I just want to do my best. I don’t look at it as a points lead or anything. I just want to go to each race and see what happens.”

s the series moved on to round 2 in Phoenix (round 4 of the World GP Series), the question on everyone's mind was "Is Stewart unstoppable?" After throwing down three phenomenal wins in Toronto, Vancouver and Anaheim, James was looking smooth, confident and ready for another win in Arizona.      However, the start of the Supercross main event would change all that. Stewart got tangled in the pack in the split start and went down. Unable to restart his KX450F right away, Stewart was dead last. So who got the holeshot, you ask? None other than "Showtime" Jeremy McGrath! The Phoenix crowd went absolutely nuts, and Jeremy, in true Showtime style, threw a big celebratory nac-nac over the first triple. McGrath was being closely tailed by Ernesto Fonseca, Ivan Tedesco and Chad Reed, with Carmichael stuck somewhere back mid-pack, but moving up fast. Reed put the pass on Fonseca and Tedesco and set his sights on McGrath, who hung onto the lead for a few gloriously nostalgic laps before finally yielding to Reed. Carmichael was getting closer, but Reed still had a considerable lead, until he spun out over a jump, losing valuable seconds and allowing Carmichael to close the gap even further. Carmichael eventually reeled Reed in and made the pass.      Meanwhile, amidst all the action up front, Stewart was on the gas and was quickly and methodically picking off riders one by one, finally making the pass on McGrath for the third place position. In the end, an ecstatic Ricky held on for the win, followed by Reed, Stewart and an equally (if not more!) jubilant McGrath in fourth. Next the series goes back to Anaheim, and we'll pick up there in our April issue. The season is off to a fantastic start! See you at the races.	2005 AMA East Coast Lites Champ Grant Langston claimed his first podium finish of the season in Phoenix with a last minute pass on Andrew Short for third. (Steve Bruhn photo) After a rocky start in Anaheim, Jeremy McGrath stepped up to the plate big-time in Phoenix. He grabbed the holeshot in the main event and proceeded to throw a huge nac-nac over the first triple! McGrath held onto the lead for a few laps, and ultimately finished fourth. (Steve Cox photo) It's been awhile since "Showtime" has gotten one of those big holeshot checks! With a new baby in the house, that $1,500 should come in handy...diapers are expensive these days! (Steve Bruhn photo)
What better place to propose to your girlfriend than in the Parts Unlimited Dealer Hospitality Tent? Love was in the air in Phoenix, and yes, she said yes! (Joanna Kaczmarek photo)	McGrath was ecstatic over his fourth place finish in Phoenix. No matter who else is in the race, you can never count the King out! (Steve Bruhn photo)