San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart had a bit of a surprise at Anaheim I, as did most of the fans in attendance, as he was powerless to watch Ryan Dungey pull away from him early in the main event. But as the champion he is, Stewart pushed through, eventually caught Dungey and took the win. We talked to him after the race.
James Stewart: He was riding really good! I think he had a few better lines than me, and I had a few, but we changed some things from the heat race, before the main event, and I think we kind of went the wrong way a little bit. But honestly, he was just riding really good. The first few laps, I was trying to settle in and see where everything was, checking out the bike, and then everything was cool, but I messed up this rhythm section over here, and then he got a pretty good gap. I looked up, and it was like lap 13, so I had to put in another charge. I felt like I had a lot left in the tank, and I was able to catch him, pass him, and then he ended up trying to pass me back, but I was able to hold him off until the end of the last lap and win the race.
Do you carry some extra confidence in knowing that sometimes you can let somebody go a little bit early with the knowledge, or at least hope, that you can reel them back in again late in the race?
Yeah, I think so. I feel like my endurance is really good, and that’s what I really work hard every week for. It was good. I felt really good at the end of the race. I felt way better at lap 17 than I did at the beginning. I’ll work on that next week and see what happens. I’m sure he’s going to go back and work, and it was first-race jitters for him [Ryan Dungey], and for me, because it was my first race in a long time. We’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a long season. Unfortunately, Chad [Reed] DNF’d tonight, so there were a lot of crazy things going on, but I’m happy to be out of here with a win and the points lead.
Do you think part of the issue tonight was that you took the summer off? Do you think that affected you tonight, having not raced in so long?
Well, I don’t know if it affected me, but I think it’s just Anaheim. I didn’t ride the best tonight, and Ryan rode great. When you think of all of the outdoor races, sure it’s race time, so maybe [it affected me] a little bit, but I got the first race out of the way. My whole goal was to get top-five, but I won the race.
Yeah, top five. If you look at if I would’ve gotten fifth here last year, and how the points looked at the end of the season, it wouldn’t have been that close, but I’m just happy to be up here and try to be consistent for another 16 races.
I’ve never, ever heard you say that you “just want to finish top-five”...
Well, when you’ve got talent like we’ve got this year, you’ve got to put yourself in a good position. A DNF this year is going to be pretty hard to get back, because you’ve got a lot of guys coming in with confidence, and I look back at the season and see how it was won last year, with me winning 11 races and Chad winning three, and I think we were four points apart. So, a top-five would’ve been great tonight...
But you won.
I got top-five! I said I was going for top-five, I didn’t say what place in there! A top-five was good! (Laughs)
In the first race for the Nike boot, you and Ryan Dungey, both in that boot, battled it out for most of the race, and went 1-2. You can’t obviously credit the boots with that, but what does it say about the performance or comfort of the boots that you adjusted that quickly to them?
Yeah, this next week will be my second week on them. Honestly, I think they’re good. They’re just comfortable. And it’s the little things, like walking around the pits with the boots on is better, because they’re a lot lighter. But I have to say that Alpinestars has a great boot also. They have a lot of good things, and I’m excited to continue my relationship with them, but these are just a little different. They make these boots customized for us. My boots are different from Ryan’s, so it’s cool to have a company like that. So I think going 1-2 says a lot not only for the boots, but also for us being Team Nike. We’ve got Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, so maybe we’re like that. I don’t know. (Smiles)
Yeah, I’m a midget, man. I’m pretty small. (Laughs) And there are a lot of things on the track that I don’t get away with; when that seat hits me in the butt, the feet come off [the pegs].
You had a lot of panic revs out there tonight, and with that new Yamaha, it’s really loud even standing in front of you, because of the way it sucks the air into the airbox. You can hear it like crazy, which means probably the guy in front of you can hear it, too...
Yeah, you can hear it, but honestly, I made a few mistakes.
So, it’s not normally how you would ride that bike, is what you’re saying...
No, no, we went the wrong way and struggled a little bit, but when you’re in a battle like that, you have no choice but to suck it up and deal with it. We were able to do it. I had a few close calls, but I felt like I was in decent control. I just had a few hiccups here and there. But the panic revs, you can’t hide them this year, for sure! It just makes for more excitement...
James Stewart: He was riding really good! I think he had a few better lines than me, and I had a few, but we changed some things from the heat race, before the main event, and I think we kind of went the wrong way a little bit. But honestly, he was just riding really good. The first few laps, I was trying to settle in and see where everything was, checking out the bike, and then everything was cool, but I messed up this rhythm section over here, and then he got a pretty good gap. I looked up, and it was like lap 13, so I had to put in another charge. I felt like I had a lot left in the tank, and I was able to catch him, pass him, and then he ended up trying to pass me back, but I was able to hold him off until the end of the last lap and win the race.
Do you carry some extra confidence in knowing that sometimes you can let somebody go a little bit early with the knowledge, or at least hope, that you can reel them back in again late in the race?
Yeah, I think so. I feel like my endurance is really good, and that’s what I really work hard every week for. It was good. I felt really good at the end of the race. I felt way better at lap 17 than I did at the beginning. I’ll work on that next week and see what happens. I’m sure he’s going to go back and work, and it was first-race jitters for him [Ryan Dungey], and for me, because it was my first race in a long time. We’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a long season. Unfortunately, Chad [Reed] DNF’d tonight, so there were a lot of crazy things going on, but I’m happy to be out of here with a win and the points lead.
Do you think part of the issue tonight was that you took the summer off? Do you think that affected you tonight, having not raced in so long?
Well, I don’t know if it affected me, but I think it’s just Anaheim. I didn’t ride the best tonight, and Ryan rode great. When you think of all of the outdoor races, sure it’s race time, so maybe [it affected me] a little bit, but I got the first race out of the way. My whole goal was to get top-five, but I won the race.
Yeah, top five. If you look at if I would’ve gotten fifth here last year, and how the points looked at the end of the season, it wouldn’t have been that close, but I’m just happy to be up here and try to be consistent for another 16 races.
I’ve never, ever heard you say that you “just want to finish top-five”...
Well, when you’ve got talent like we’ve got this year, you’ve got to put yourself in a good position. A DNF this year is going to be pretty hard to get back, because you’ve got a lot of guys coming in with confidence, and I look back at the season and see how it was won last year, with me winning 11 races and Chad winning three, and I think we were four points apart. So, a top-five would’ve been great tonight...
But you won.
I got top-five! I said I was going for top-five, I didn’t say what place in there! A top-five was good! (Laughs)
In the first race for the Nike boot, you and Ryan Dungey, both in that boot, battled it out for most of the race, and went 1-2. You can’t obviously credit the boots with that, but what does it say about the performance or comfort of the boots that you adjusted that quickly to them?
Yeah, this next week will be my second week on them. Honestly, I think they’re good. They’re just comfortable. And it’s the little things, like walking around the pits with the boots on is better, because they’re a lot lighter. But I have to say that Alpinestars has a great boot also. They have a lot of good things, and I’m excited to continue my relationship with them, but these are just a little different. They make these boots customized for us. My boots are different from Ryan’s, so it’s cool to have a company like that. So I think going 1-2 says a lot not only for the boots, but also for us being Team Nike. We’ve got Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, so maybe we’re like that. I don’t know. (Smiles)
Yeah, I’m a midget, man. I’m pretty small. (Laughs) And there are a lot of things on the track that I don’t get away with; when that seat hits me in the butt, the feet come off [the pegs].
You had a lot of panic revs out there tonight, and with that new Yamaha, it’s really loud even standing in front of you, because of the way it sucks the air into the airbox. You can hear it like crazy, which means probably the guy in front of you can hear it, too...
Yeah, you can hear it, but honestly, I made a few mistakes.
So, it’s not normally how you would ride that bike, is what you’re saying...
No, no, we went the wrong way and struggled a little bit, but when you’re in a battle like that, you have no choice but to suck it up and deal with it. We were able to do it. I had a few close calls, but I felt like I was in decent control. I just had a few hiccups here and there. But the panic revs, you can’t hide them this year, for sure! It just makes for more excitement...
