Crazy Canadian Nights:
Well the World Supercross GP got off to a raucous start last weekend and the chips literally fell all over the place. Because of Speed Channel airings, we won't talk about the Lites class and ruin any of the fun of catching it as it happens.........er....happened. But there was enough excitement in the big class to keep people talking for years.
It was cold outside the dome, but inside the engines and bodies kept it toasty with the help of the massive heating system. And right away the new rules for practice got things cooking so hot they boiled right over onto the stove. For those of you who've not heard, practice times are now directly related to gate picks, which means throwing down the quickest lap times in practice is no longer just about bragging rites. The big class has also adopted the Lites class of only two heat races in which the top 9 riders will go to the main, and one LCQ.
Getting back to the heated practice laps, four of the top guns were out in the first practice session. And as Reed followed RC around in the front of the pack, James Stewart and Ivan Tedesco battled each other for a foothold on a spot. As the two entered a dragon back section with two options, Tedesco shot out of the corner in front of Stewart. The two chose two different lines and at the end of the section Bubba either did not see Tedesco going inside, or he (more likely) tried to beat him there to jump in front. But Bubba did not have the line and he landed right on Tedesco's left side. Ivan was visibly hurt when he got up and later discovered his hand was indeed broken. It was in ill-advised moved by Stewart who would have been wise to back off at that point and wait to catch Tedesco on the parts of the track where Bubba was easily quicker.
That practice mishap was only the start of the problems for Stewart as the main event roared off the gate. Nick Wey shot into the lead and looked sharp with Reed, Carmichael, and a slew of others breathing down his neck. Wey managed to stay out in front long enough to RC to clip a tough-block and scatter himself to the ground. With no championship to worry about, RC was in such a good mood you could almost see him laughing under his helmet at his mistake.
It wasn't long before Reed made his way around Wey and pulled into the lead. Meanwhile Stewart was making his way through the pack, taking aim on the leader. About mid way through the race Bubba was on Reed's rear wheel and the battle began. Stewart gave Reed a look at his wheel and eventually put a block-pass on the #22 Yamaha. But Reed would not be denied and quickly fought his way back into the lead. The two went back and forth for a couple laps. Than just before the finish line jump Stewart once again got by Reed, but CR was right back on the gas when Bubba made a mistake and ended up slowing and pulling into Reed's line on the approach to the jump. The two made some contact, Reed bumped Stewart's back tire sending him off the track.
Reed rolled the jumps and quickly shot passed Stewart who was still off the track. As Reed exited the turn following the finish line leap, Stewart in an attempt to lose as little time as possible shot back on the track with nary a glance to oncoming traffic. The result was a wicked crash in which Travis Preston literally slammed into Stewart as he landed the jump.
Preston was out of the race with a broken bike, but Stewart managed to get back into the race favoring his right leg. It a few more turns Stewart had more problems as Ricky Carmichael's charge to the front found him taking 2nd place away from the Kawasaki rider, settling Bubba into 3rd spot where he would finish.
Chad Reed sailed the rest of the way, his hard work behind him and confidence riding shotgun. Make no mistake, had Stewart not crashed there was a good chance Reed would have had too much for him anyway. You could feel the tenacity billowing off Reed as he just seemed like he was not going to be denied the race win no matter what. Stewart was giving all he had and he could not get Reed behind him far enough to make it stick.
After the race, Travis Preston was not at all happy with Stewart and went over to tell him so. As JBS reeled on the dirt in pain, clutching his right leg, Preston came over and grabbed the mouth piece of Stewart's helmet and had a few words. We tried to get a comment out of Preston as he walked by but he just shook his head, red-faced and angry as he walked by. One member of Preston's team commented by saying it was "the most retarded move" he'd seen in a pro race in years. One of the mechanics coming back was no so nice, his words and name we will not print, but he suggested that a move like that could have killed someone.
The reality is that Stewart had a rough weekend pretty much from start to finish. Still there is no excuse that is reasonable for what he did during the race. No matter what level you are at, hell even trail riding with your friends, you simply do not pull onto the track or trail without looking. This is off-road riding 101 and every kid knows it, or needs to learn it before going out in the dirt. And a glance out of the corner of your eye as Bubba claims he did in his apology letter at TransWorld Motocross, is not enough. A glance will not cut it, only a full on stare or even a double take is enough.
JBS might be the most naturally talented rider to even throw a leg over a dirt bike, but sometimes his head seems to be in another place. He is generally more of a danger to himself, but there have been several occasions where he has taken out others. The image of him jumping into RCs back during an MX race two seasons ago is still burned into the minds of many people. The thing is that Stewart is getting too old for rookie mistakes, or over excitement to the point of catastrophic breakdown. He needs to race more in his head and less on the track. His creativity and talent often give him ideas that other riders would not dare to fathom as possible, and sometimes this comes up to bite him. Such was the case in taking out Tedesco in practice. But what he did in taking out Preston was just pure the stupidity of being caught up in emotion and adrenaline. We've all been there at some point in our lives, but most of us know what to do in order to limit the danger to ourselves and leave others out of it.
We can all only hope that this is Stewart's final lesson in stupidity because the guy is an amazing racer to watch and can only do good for the sport. To top it off he's a hell of a guy who you just want to root for and you know in his heart he has all the best intentions in mind. He just needs to learn how to race smart at the times when racing fast is just too dangerous.
Well the World Supercross GP got off to a raucous start last weekend and the chips literally fell all over the place. Because of Speed Channel airings, we won't talk about the Lites class and ruin any of the fun of catching it as it happens.........er....happened. But there was enough excitement in the big class to keep people talking for years.
It was cold outside the dome, but inside the engines and bodies kept it toasty with the help of the massive heating system. And right away the new rules for practice got things cooking so hot they boiled right over onto the stove. For those of you who've not heard, practice times are now directly related to gate picks, which means throwing down the quickest lap times in practice is no longer just about bragging rites. The big class has also adopted the Lites class of only two heat races in which the top 9 riders will go to the main, and one LCQ.
Getting back to the heated practice laps, four of the top guns were out in the first practice session. And as Reed followed RC around in the front of the pack, James Stewart and Ivan Tedesco battled each other for a foothold on a spot. As the two entered a dragon back section with two options, Tedesco shot out of the corner in front of Stewart. The two chose two different lines and at the end of the section Bubba either did not see Tedesco going inside, or he (more likely) tried to beat him there to jump in front. But Bubba did not have the line and he landed right on Tedesco's left side. Ivan was visibly hurt when he got up and later discovered his hand was indeed broken. It was in ill-advised moved by Stewart who would have been wise to back off at that point and wait to catch Tedesco on the parts of the track where Bubba was easily quicker.
That practice mishap was only the start of the problems for Stewart as the main event roared off the gate. Nick Wey shot into the lead and looked sharp with Reed, Carmichael, and a slew of others breathing down his neck. Wey managed to stay out in front long enough to RC to clip a tough-block and scatter himself to the ground. With no championship to worry about, RC was in such a good mood you could almost see him laughing under his helmet at his mistake.
It wasn't long before Reed made his way around Wey and pulled into the lead. Meanwhile Stewart was making his way through the pack, taking aim on the leader. About mid way through the race Bubba was on Reed's rear wheel and the battle began. Stewart gave Reed a look at his wheel and eventually put a block-pass on the #22 Yamaha. But Reed would not be denied and quickly fought his way back into the lead. The two went back and forth for a couple laps. Than just before the finish line jump Stewart once again got by Reed, but CR was right back on the gas when Bubba made a mistake and ended up slowing and pulling into Reed's line on the approach to the jump. The two made some contact, Reed bumped Stewart's back tire sending him off the track.
Reed rolled the jumps and quickly shot passed Stewart who was still off the track. As Reed exited the turn following the finish line leap, Stewart in an attempt to lose as little time as possible shot back on the track with nary a glance to oncoming traffic. The result was a wicked crash in which Travis Preston literally slammed into Stewart as he landed the jump.
Preston was out of the race with a broken bike, but Stewart managed to get back into the race favoring his right leg. It a few more turns Stewart had more problems as Ricky Carmichael's charge to the front found him taking 2nd place away from the Kawasaki rider, settling Bubba into 3rd spot where he would finish.
Chad Reed sailed the rest of the way, his hard work behind him and confidence riding shotgun. Make no mistake, had Stewart not crashed there was a good chance Reed would have had too much for him anyway. You could feel the tenacity billowing off Reed as he just seemed like he was not going to be denied the race win no matter what. Stewart was giving all he had and he could not get Reed behind him far enough to make it stick.
After the race, Travis Preston was not at all happy with Stewart and went over to tell him so. As JBS reeled on the dirt in pain, clutching his right leg, Preston came over and grabbed the mouth piece of Stewart's helmet and had a few words. We tried to get a comment out of Preston as he walked by but he just shook his head, red-faced and angry as he walked by. One member of Preston's team commented by saying it was "the most retarded move" he'd seen in a pro race in years. One of the mechanics coming back was no so nice, his words and name we will not print, but he suggested that a move like that could have killed someone.
The reality is that Stewart had a rough weekend pretty much from start to finish. Still there is no excuse that is reasonable for what he did during the race. No matter what level you are at, hell even trail riding with your friends, you simply do not pull onto the track or trail without looking. This is off-road riding 101 and every kid knows it, or needs to learn it before going out in the dirt. And a glance out of the corner of your eye as Bubba claims he did in his apology letter at TransWorld Motocross, is not enough. A glance will not cut it, only a full on stare or even a double take is enough.
JBS might be the most naturally talented rider to even throw a leg over a dirt bike, but sometimes his head seems to be in another place. He is generally more of a danger to himself, but there have been several occasions where he has taken out others. The image of him jumping into RCs back during an MX race two seasons ago is still burned into the minds of many people. The thing is that Stewart is getting too old for rookie mistakes, or over excitement to the point of catastrophic breakdown. He needs to race more in his head and less on the track. His creativity and talent often give him ideas that other riders would not dare to fathom as possible, and sometimes this comes up to bite him. Such was the case in taking out Tedesco in practice. But what he did in taking out Preston was just pure the stupidity of being caught up in emotion and adrenaline. We've all been there at some point in our lives, but most of us know what to do in order to limit the danger to ourselves and leave others out of it.
We can all only hope that this is Stewart's final lesson in stupidity because the guy is an amazing racer to watch and can only do good for the sport. To top it off he's a hell of a guy who you just want to root for and you know in his heart he has all the best intentions in mind. He just needs to learn how to race smart at the times when racing fast is just too dangerous.
posted by motoguru at 7:45 AM
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