James Stewart will turn his focus to the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season opener at Hangtown on May 21. Yoshimura Suzuki announced today that Stewart will miss the remainder of Monster Energy Supercross due to a hairline fracture in his ankle and a back injury he aggravated in a crash with Weston Peick last weekend in St. Louis.
“I want to be out there racing,” Stewart said in a team statement. “My fans and sponsors are important to me, but ultimately I need to focus on getting completely healed up and be solid and ready to go the next time I roll up to the starting gate at Hangtown.”
Stewart’s return from a sixteen-month suspension for a positive test for a banned substance following the Seattle Supercross in 2014 has been riddled with injuries. At the Monster Energy Supercross season opener Stewart suffered a concussion after colliding with Ryan Dungey. He would miss more time with back and ankle injuries later in the season. All told, Stewart has qualified for four main events. His best finish this season is a fourteenth.
“James has a hairline fracture in his ankle and he aggravated his back injury from his Daytona crash last week in St. Louis,” said Yoshimura Suzuki team manager Mike Webb. “Clearly, he needs time to heal up and get ready for Hangtown.”
