Catching Up With…James Stewart

bayodome

• February 09 2009
• 4,753 views
• 8 comments

The San Manuel/L&M/Yamaha rider just captured another win at Anaheim III.  With the track conditions being some of the roughest we have seen all year, Stewart managed to hold off a charging Chad Reed, skate around lappers, and avoid succumbing to the rain and muddy-ish conditions.  We spoke with James just after his podium celebration.

James, this was your fifth win in a row.   Can you break down the race for us?

It was good. I got a really good start and everything was going smoothly. Then I caught up to lappers and I got jacked up with those guys. Eventually I got around them, but then it started raining and then got caught up with the lappers again. But the race went great, I can’t ask for anything better, it was my fifth win in a row.  I just have to give it up for my team. Those guys have been busting their tails the last few weeks and the bike worked the best it has all year in the whoops, and that’s all I can ask for.

From the side of the track, they seemed like some of the most treacherous whoops we have see this year.

Yeah, they were really tough, especially at the end with all of the water toward the end. But like I said, the guys on my team are making my feel really comfortable, and I think it’s showing right now. I think we have a great package, and I believe that we’re only going to get better. I feel good going into the next few weeks. Chad has obviously ridden really well in San Diego (in the past), but all I can do is ride my best; so far I have been doing that and it’s worked out great.

It seems as though the momentum has swung in your direction.  Is the idea to keep flowing with that or are you still trying to make improvements throughout the week to find that extra edge?

Honestly, I think momentum is good but I really don’t believe in that. I think every week is a different week, and if I had momentum on my side, I would just be running away with everything, but it’s still a lot of hard work. Every week I go back and I train as if I was still 18 points down in the series; in my mind I am and we just need to keep chipping away.

So the way you see it, you are coming into each race thinking, “I need to do whatever I can to get the win.” How do you not let yourself become over confident?

Yeah, every week is different. Chad Reed is still the number one guy out there; he has the number one plate, he has the points lead. I can’t say anything about that. It’s not my series, it’s his series, and all I can do is try my best to get up there. So far I’m doing the best that I can. Every week things change, so we’ll see in the next couple of rounds.

Are you looking forward to the series moving back East with mostly domed stadiums and different soil?

For sure, I look forward to that. I like the West Coast, but I prefer the East Coast more. I think everybody does because you don’t ever have to worry about rain plus I’m at home, and I get to practice at my house. But I think the track was awesome tonight and for the next three weeks the tracks look pretty good.

Does the whole team go down to Florida for testing or do you just stick regular practice routine?

I have my own practice setup. The team will come down for Daytona, but I’m happy with everything we have going and there’s no reason to change.