PHOENIX, AZ – Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s James Stewart bounced back in a big way from last weekend’s crash to turn in a first-class performance at Saturday’s round two of AMA/FIM Supercross at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ. Although the Yoshimura Suzuki rider was feeling under the weather, Stewart stepped it up for the main event and raced his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to an impressive fourth-place result.

“I’ve had some good luck at Phoenix in the past,” said Stewart, one of only two riders to win in both the 450 and 250 classes at this venue. “So Phoenix has been pretty good to me.”

That said, Stewart still wasn’t 100 percent going into the evening’s racing. And, just to add insult to injury, a get-off in practice resulted in mechanic Rene Zapata having to completely rebuild his bike prior to the heat race. In spite of all this, Stewart still managed to finish fourth and transfer to the main event. Feeling admittedly fatigued at the start of the 20-lap main, Stewart struggled off the gate but he also put his head down and charged through the field on his Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450. Carefully sizing up the competition and then picking them off one by one, Stewart worked his way into fourth place and held on to the checkers.

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“Overall it was a long day,” said Stewart. “On Thursday, I was out testing and started feeling bad. Saturday was probably the worst I’ve felt. On top of being sick, I didn’t get a good start in the main event. I literally could’ve fallen over on the gate, I was so tired and weak. But we ended up fourth and I feel good about that. Considering how bad I felt, to still get a top five was nice. And I’m glad to walk out of Phoenix with some valuable points. I knew two bad weekends in a row wouldn’t be good for any title hopes, so I did what I had to do. I’ve also got to give it up to the Yoshimura Suzuki team for believing in me and fighting through it. Now, I’m going to go back and rest up and be ready for Anaheim 2.”

Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s next event is the third round of the 2014 AMA/FIM Supercross Championship on Saturday, January 18th, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA.

Phoenix 450 Supercross Results:
1.  Ryan Villopoto
2.  Justin Brayton
3.  Ryan Dungey
4.  James Stewart
5.  Justin Barcia
6.  Ken Roczen
7.  Andrew Short
8.  Broc Tickle
9.  Chad Reed
10. William Hahn

2013 450 Supercross Standings:
1.  Ryan Villopoto
2.  Ryan Dungey
3.  Ken Roczen
4.  Justin Brayton
5.  Chad Reed
6.  Justin Barcia
7.  Andrew Short
8.  Broc Tickle
9.  James Stewart
10. William Hahn