Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart’s appeal for reinstatement has been denied by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
It was worth the try, but James Stewart will remain ineligible to contest the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship this season, according to information released by his Yoshimura Suzuki team yesterday.
In what turned out to be a long and costly process for Stewart, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, has dismissed the appeal he filed, seeking relief from a suspension for the drug test that he failed at the 2014 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, and FIM World Championship. Stewart was banned from competition for 16 months even though he was given an exemption to use the prescription drug, Adderall, after the test. Even so, the court rejected Stewart’s appeal, in which he claimed that he was guilty only of a “paperwork violation” and never willfully intended to violate the FIM anti-doping code.
Thus, Stewart remains ineligible for all FIM and AMA competition until August 11.
“It’s extremely disappointing that my appeal was denied,” Stewart said. “But I’m glad this is over and now I can turn my full attention back to preparing for the few events I’ll be competition in this year and coming back strong for 2016. I thank Yoshimura Suzuki, my sponsors and all the fans who have given me a ton of support through all of this. The one thing this time off has done is made me realize how much I miss racing, so it’s going to be a great day for me when I get to see that gate drop again.”
Mike Webb, Yoshimura Suzuki’s team manager, added that the appeal process has been frustrating due to the cost and the fact that the process was beset by numerous delays as requested by the FIM before the CAS .
“It was an incredibly frustrating process and disappointing decision, but we’ll have James on board with the team for 2016 and beyond, and we look forward to his return,” Webb said. “We have a few warm-up events later this year and then we’ll be back in full force for the 2016 Supercross season.”
Stewart is scheduled to compete in the 2015 Red Bull Straight Rhythm, an event in which he is the defending champion, and also the Monster Energy Cup in October.
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