GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart adds to his series point lead at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
After last weekend’s round in Massachusetts, GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart had said that he wasn’t going to concern himself as much about winning the last couple rounds of the Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series and would instead focus more on maintaining his series point lead.
Then again, if Stewart could see a clear path to a win, he wasn’t going to hold back either. That’s just what happened at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, last night. Stewart made his way through turn one unscathed and quickly passed his way to the lead to score his second 250SX East round win of the season. More importantly, he padded his series points lead by another nine points with only one round remaining.
It didn’t look as though Stewart, who gained entry into the main event by handily winning his heat race, was going to get the clean start that he was looking when the main event got underway. He was actually the 10th rider to cross the stripe that marks the holeshot award winner—but while last week’s winner, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Martin Davalos moved past KTM-mounted Dakota Alix for the lead, Stewart had a clear lane through the first rhythm section, and he put it to good use, going from 10th to fifth.
Stewart then muscled his way past Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Shane McElrath for fourth place just as the field hit the over-under jump section for the first time, passed Alix for third through the ensuing whoop section. It took Stewart a little bit longer to get around Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers for second place, but he got the job done just before the finish line jump at the end of lap two. A hard charge through the whoops allowed him to set up leader Davalos right at the end of the section, and he knifed under the Husqvarna rider to take the lead on lap three.
That was that, as Stewart steadily motored away from the field–doing his best impersonation of brother James Stewart back in the Suzuki rider’s heyday—en route to a comfortable win just under five seconds ahead of Davalos. Afterward, Malcom Stewart thanked his brother for some pre-race words of wisdom.
“I can’t thank my brother enough,” Stewart said. “To be honest, I was a little bit down on myself, and we talked after the heat race. And he was like,’Mal, you know what? You’re the fastest guy out there. You’ve got to prove these people wrong. You’ve got to go out there and do it.’ So, I went out there and did it for ya, bud!
“It has been a rollercoaster this year,” Stewart added. “We’ve got one more race to go, and I’ll see the West boys [250SX West] soon. I’m coming for ya, boys.”
After another clean main event run, Davalos finished second, once again leaving pitside pundits to wonder just how close the battle for the series title battle might be had Davalos not missed the Canadian round.
“Malcolm was better than me tonight,” Davalos said. “I just couldn’t find the traction out there. I struggled a little bit through the whoops, but I’m pretty pleased with the way I rode. I gave it my best, and that’s what it’s all about—to give it your best every single weekend.”
Third place went to Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin, another rider whose fortunes heading into the final round of the series next weekend in Las Vegas might be different if not for his crash and DNF at the Indy Supercross. Martin ran fifth after the first lap, and he was able to work past Alix on lap two and Bowers on lap seven to land in third place. Martin made little progress toward Davalos or Stewart after that, finishing 8.9 seconds behind Stewart.
“I got off to a good jump out of the gate, but I was just a little wide, made a few mistakes in the first rhythm [section] and those guys got away,” Martin said. “I was battling with Bowers, and I saw Mookie [Malcolm Stewart] make the pass on Martin [Davalos], and I said, ‘I’ve gotta get going if I want a chance to try to win this. I got into third, and I put my head down. I was trying to give it everything I had, but we were playing cat and mouse. I would inch up on ‘em and then they’d inch away. We were all kind of doing the same thing tonight, so it was a little tough. But I’m looking forward to Vegas.”
Martin’s teammate, Aaron Plessinger, put himself more in the hole where it pertains to the 250SX East title race.
Trailing Stewart by just five points coming into Metlife Stadium, Plessinger got his night off to a good start by winning his heat race to transfer to the main, but he got an abysmal start in the 15-lapper, running 15th on the first lap. Plessinger passed his way through the field to land fifth at the finish, behind McElrath, but he lost nine points to Stewart, who now leads Plessinger, 160-146. Martin is third with 141 points.
The Monster Energy AMA 250SX East and 250SX West series wrap up next weekend at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will also host the Dave Coombs Sr. East-West Shootout.
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series
MetLife Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Results: April 30, 2016 (Round 8 of 9)
250SX East Main
1. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
2. Martin Davalos-Hus
3. Jeremy Martin-Yam
4. Shane Mcelrath-KTM
5. Aaron Plessinger-Yam
6. Tyler Bowers-Kaw
7. Gannon Audette-Kaw
8. Dakota Alix-KTM
9. Luke Renzland-Yam
10. Cedric Soubeyras-Kaw
11. Matthew Bisceglia-Suz
12. Rj Hampshire-Hon
13. Anthony Rodriguez-Kaw
14. Alexander Frye-KTM
15. Darryn Durham-Yam
16. Jimmy Albertson-Suz
17. Justin Starling-Kaw
18. Jacob Williamson-Kaw
19. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
20. Paul Coates-Hon
21. John Short-Yam
22. Lane Staley-KTM
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series Points Standings (after 8 of 9 rounds)
1. Malcolm Stewart-160/2 wins
2. Aaron Plessinger-146/1 win
3. Jeremy Martin-141/2 wins
4. Martin Davalos-130/2 wins
5. Shane McElrath-109
6. Tyler Bowers-108
7. Gannon Audette-105
8. RJ Hampshire-99
9. Anthony Rodriguez-78
10. Matt Bisceglia-68
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