Stewart, Weimer Continue Bridgestone’s Winning Ways
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – James Stewart and Jake Weimer rode to victories Saturday night at AT&T Park in San Francisco as Bridgestone remained perfect in 2009 Monster Energy AMA Supercross competition. In addition, Bridgestone-equipped riders captured five of the six possible podium positions in Supercross and Supercross Lites.
James Stewart (Team San Manuel / JSE Yamaha), the 2008 AMA Motocross championship on Bridgestone tires, raced to his fourth consecutive Supercross victory. He grabbed the lead on the holeshot and was never headed, winning by 4.5 seconds. Chad Reed (Rockstar / Makita Suzuki) finished second to Stewart for the fourth straight week, and with Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki) taking third, it made for a Bridgestone podium sweep in Supercross.
“We needed all the help we could get tonight with the soil conditions and track layout,” Stewart said. “Bridgestone really came through with the tires.”
Despite being winless so far in 2009, Reed, the 2008 AMA Supercross champ, retains the points lead with 108 after five of 17 events. Reed is six points ahead of Stewart and 13 in front of fellow Bridgestone rider Josh Grant (JGRMX / Toyota Yamaha).
In Supercross Lites Western Regional competition, Weimer (Monster Energy / Pro Circuit Kawasaki) and fellow Bridgestone rider Ryan Dungey (Rockstar / Makita Suzuki) battled for the lead until Dungey crashed on lap 11. Weimer rode on to the victory while Dungey recovered to finish second and retain the points lead. Dungey has 92 points, four ahead of Weimer and 12 up on Bridgestone’s Ryan Morais (Monster Energy / Pro Circuit Kawasaki).
Weimer credited his Bridgestone tires, saying, “With a track this slippery, it’s great to know that my (Kawasaki) has the power to allow us to use the new 120/80-19 size rear tire for maximum traction and control.”
Doug Schopinsky, who oversees Bridgestone tire development for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, summarized the winning weekend, “With so much debris and stone in this soil, we really had our work cut out for us at this event,” he said. “The key tonight was having a fresh edge for the all-important start. The loose, stony soil was very abrasive on the tires, but our riders’ consistent lap times highlighted Bridgestone's predictability as the tires wore.”
About Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations:
Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) is a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire and rubber company. Reporting into the BATO business unit are the company's Latin American tire operations, the U.S. and Canadian consumer tire businesses and the U.S. and Canadian commercial tire businesses. BATO develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires. The business unit is focused on retail, wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off road, motorcycle, agricultural and other tires to its customers in the Americas. In addition, through its Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions unit, retreading customers have access to industry-leading research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales expertise, providing them with a total tire solution.
