The only option left for James Stewart is to win, and that's exactly what he did in Toronto. His title hopes are still very much alive.
James Stewart avenged last week’s heat race loss by dominating his qualifier, and he did exactly what he needed to do by winning the Supercross class main event inside the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Stewart went wire-to-wire with Chad Reed on his tail and managed to avoid the costly mistakes that have been plaguing him.
Reed was second on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki but following Stewart’s San Manuel Yamaha JSE YZ450F cost a valuable three points. Reed is clinging to an eight-point advantage as we come down the home stretch of the 2009 series.
Reed’s former Factory Yamaha teammate, Josh Hill, snagged third for his best result of the year after making the podium pass on Josh Grant at the halfway point. Grant would finish fourth with Red Bull Honda’s Ivan Tedesco in fifth. Grant leads Tedesco in the point standings as well by a margin of 11.
Toronto Supercross Results:
1. James Stewart, Yam
2. Chad Reed, Suz
3. Josh Hill, Yam
4. Josh Grant, Yam
5. Ivan Tedesco, Hon
6. Kevin Windham, Hon
7. Davi Millsaps, Hon
8. Matt Boni, Suz
9. Andrew Short, Hon
10. Ben Coisy
Supercross Overall Standings:
1. Reed, 293
2. Stewart, 285
3. Short, 209
4. Grant, 190
5. Tedesco, 179
Christophe Pourcel clinched the title one round early by winning the Lites division. Pourcel has been unstoppable this season when he starts out front.
Christophe Pourcel won the Lites main event which effectively secured the East Coast Supercross Lites championship for the Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider. Pourcel has a 28 point lead over his teammate, Austin Stroupe who followed the French import to the checkers in Toronto. After a couple of frustrating weeks where Pourcel was forced to maintain his points and race from the back of the pack, tonight was more to his liking. The Number 377 Kawasaki KX250F led all 15 laps. Early on it was eventual third-place finisher, Broc Tickle in pursuit, but Stroupe worked into the runner-up position on Lap 5 but couldn’t catch the leader.
Branden Jesseman continued is strong season with a fourth place for the Canidae Motorsports Kawasaki squad and Matt Lemoine was fifth on his Star Racing Yamaha YZ250F.
The Lites class has one more eastern round in Jacksonville, FL before the series heads back west and then to Las Vegas for the shootout.
Supercross Lites Results:
1. Christophe Pourcel, Kaw
2. Austin Stroupe, Kaw
3. Broc Tickle, Yam
4. Branden Jesseman, Kaw
5. Matt Lemoine, Yam
6. Wil Hahn, KTM
7. Matt Goerke, Suz
8. Vince Friese, Hon
9. Daniel Blair, Hon
10. Blake Wharton, Hon
Supercross Lites Overall Standings:
1. Pourcel, 156
2. Stroupe, 128
3. Izzi, 112
4. Wharton, 102
5. Jesseman, 91
