JDR/J-Star/KTM Race Report – Daytona Supercross

Daytona,
FL – JDR/J-Star/KTM riders Malcolm Stewart and PJ Larsen finished 8th
and 16th respectively at the fourth round of the AMA Supercross Series
held at Daytona Speedway under horrible riding conditions.

The
course went from dry to completely soaked throughout the evening as
rainfall continued to pour into the evening hours. Larsen was first to
challenge the muddy race course in the first heat. He had a pretty clean
start and managed to quickly break into the top five. After six laps he
moved into 4th and easily transferred to the main.

Stewart
was placed in the next heat. He had a decent jump off the start but
went down early. “After I crashed, my goggles filled with so much mud I
had to get rid of them,” remarked Stewart. “After that my eyes filled
with so much dirt I couldn’t see and I had to pull off.” Stewart didn’t
finish the heat race and quickly returned to the pits to prepare for the
LCQ.

Stewart earned a 3rd place start in the LCQ and
quickly moved into qualifying position. He finished the race in 2nd
place taking the final transfer spot to the main.

Despite
having last gate pick in the main event, Stewart pulled off a decent
start. He came around the first corner mid-pack and quickly moved into
the top ten. He managed to stay upright the entire evening despite the
conditions that were causing many riders to get stuck in mud holes or
crash in the deep ruts. Meanwhile, Larsen had suffered a crash off the
start and was sitting in last position. He climbed up as high as 15th
before he slid out in another incident and dropped back to 17th. He was
able to climb up one more position before the checkers to earn 16th.
Stewart held on to finish 8th overall for the night.

“Considering
the conditions, I am pretty happy to finish and not have any major
issues,” remarked Stewart. “I would have liked to finish inside the top
five but it was hard to make progress on the riders that got out front
early. I am happy to earn some points and hope to keep improving next
weekend.”

Next Event: Indianapolis, IN – March 17, 2012

Overall Results SX Lites Class –

1. Justin Barcia

2. Blake Baggett

3. Darryn Durham

4. Ken Roczen – KTM

5. Blake Wharton

6. Jake Canada

7. Kyle Cunningham

8. Malcolm Stewart – KTM

9. Cole Thompson

10. Tommy Weeck

11. Les Smith – KTM

12. Shane Sewell – KTM

13. Alex Martin

14. Tyler Bowers

15. Justin Starling – KTM

16. PJ Larsen – KTM

17. Kyle Peters

18. Justin Bogle

19. Jeff Gibson

20. Phil Nicoletti

Overall Point Standings SX Lites:

1. Justin Barcia – 100

2. Darryn Durham – 76

3. Ken Roczen – 75

4. Blake Wharton – 72

5. Blake Baggett – 62

6. Jake Canada – 56

7. Justin Bogle – 46

8. Malcolm Stewart – 42

9. Kyle Cunningham – 42

10. Cole Thompson – 32