Malcolm Stewart comes into Detroit with an illness but leaves with a healthy 250SX East series point lead.
Prior to the Detroit Supercross, Malcolm Stewart was arguably the fastest rider in the Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series without a main event win, but tonight at Ford Field the GEICO Honda superstar not only erased that moniker, he became the man to beat in the series title race as well.
Stewart came into the night battling an illness, but he left with his second career 250SX win on a night in which series points leader Jeremy Martin struggled and last week’s Toronto Supercross winner, Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM’s Justin Hill saw his championship hopes take a serious hit when Hill crashed during practice. Although Hill was able to walk away from the crash, he was forced to sit out the race.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers scored the first heat race win, with Stewart winning heat race two and setting the faster race time of the two heats to earn another number one starting spot for the 22-rider, 15-lap main event. When the gate dropped for the main, another Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider, Arnaud Tonus of Switzerland, took the early lead as Bowers and Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Martin, came together in turn one with both men crashing. Stewart got away third, behind Tonus and Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger.
However, despite being sick, Stewart was clearly on a mission, and he shot past Plessinger for second place at the end of Ford Field’s long and technical whoop section to take over second place on lap two. It took Stewart just two more laps before he was on Tonus’ rear wheel and challenging the Swiss rider for the lead. Stewart appeared to be in control of the race even then, however, and he got an excellent drive through the second half of the whoop section to blitz past Tonus and take a lead on lap four. Stewart would never be seriously challenged after that, as he ran laps in the high-48 and low 49-second range to pull away and win the race with 5.98 seconds in hand.
Meanwhile, Martin saw his points lead evaporate after crashing again later in the main event. His 13th-place finish in conjunction with Stewart’s win resulted in a nine-point swing in Stewart’s favor, giving Stewart the series lead over Martin, 80-73. Stewart became the fourth different winner in a 2016 East campaign that has yet to produce a repeat winner. Based on his performance tonight, that could very well be another trend that Stewart reverses at the next East round.
“It’s unbelievable, man,” Stewart said. “Coming out, being sick, and then all of a sudden, you know, to turn the race around like that…I felt good on the track, but I just felt bad in the truck. [laughs]. My hat’s off to my brother [James Stewart]. I can’t thank him enough. We talked after the heat race, and he just said, ‘Go out there, ride your own race. Don’t worry about nobody else.’ And look where it got us, on top of the box. I’m excited, but there’s more races to come. But luck was on my side at this race, so let’s keep it on that side.”
Tonus exited the race on lap four, and that allowed Plessinger to take over second place. Plessinger ran within 1.5 seconds of Stewart for a few laps, but he was unable to get near Stewart and settled for a solid second-place finish, tying his best career AMA Supercross finish.
“I got the holeshot for once,” Plessinger said. “I usually get bad starts. I was just smooth and consistent, riding behind Malcolm—he’s going really fast right now. The whoops were really a challenge tonight. One time I hit ‘em in second gear and almost wadded it up, but it was a good race.”
Even with Hill absent, Shane McElrath gave Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM another podium finish, assuaging the disappointment of last weekend in Toronto where he ran in second place before suffering a flat rear tire. McElrath ran pretty much uncontested in third place after Tonus pulled out just four laps into the race. After finishing 22nd, 10th and 18th respectively in the first three rounds, third place must have seemed like a dream come true for the North Carolinian, who very nearly missed the start of the series after suffering an injury last November. He wasn’t expected to be fit to compete again until mid-March, but McElrath rebounded quickly and now has a podium finish to show for it.
“We’ve just been making progress every week,” McElrath said. “Working with Tyla Rattray, my fitness is good. It’s just I had some bad luck the first few rounds. It wasn’t our fault. [We] just take it as it came, and we’re grateful to be here. The last few months have just been such up and down—we’re not even supposed to be here. We took a gamble, and we’ve just been making progress every week. It feels good tonight. I needed this one just right before the break, and I’m just ready for more.”
Bowers finished fourth ahead of early series points leader Martin Davalos of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team. Davalos, of Ecuador, forfeited the series lead by missing the Toronto Supercross for “personal reasons” and now finds himself 19 points out of the series lead.
The Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series now takes a one-week hiatus as the Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series returns to action next weekend at Levis Stadium in Santa o California, the West series’ final round before the Dave Coombs Sr. East-West Shootout in Las Vegas in May.
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series
Ford Field
Detroit, Michigan
Results: March 19, 2016 (Round 4 of 8)
250 Main Event
1. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
2. Aaron Plessinger-Yam
3. Shane McElrath-KTM
4. Tyler Bowers-Kaw
5. Martin Davalos-Hus
6. Gannon Audette-Kaw
7. RJ Hampshire-Hon
8. Paul Coates-Hon
9. Cedric Soubeyras-Kaw
10. Jesse Wentland-Hon
11. Anthony Rodriguez-Kaw
12. Matt Bisceglia-Suz
13. Jeremy Martin-Yam
14. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
15. Justin Starling-Kaw
16. Jacob Williamson-Kaw
17. Dylan Slusser-Yam
18. Gradie Featherstone-Kaw
19. Benny Bloss-Yam
20. Martin Castelo-Hon
21. Arnaud Tonus-Kaw
22. Alexander Frye-KTM
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series Points Standings (after 4 of 8 rounds)
1. Malcolm Stewart-80/1 win
2. Jeremy Martin-73/1 win
3. Aaron Plessinger-67
4. Justin Hill-63/1 win
5. Martin Davalos-61/1 win
6. Tyler Bowers-53
7. RJ Hampshire-44
8. Matt Bisceglia-41
Jesse Wentland-41
Gannon Audette-41
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