James

LoudLove
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LoudLove 8/19/2012 8:54am
8/19/2012 8:54am
James can ride "conservatively" (by his standards) and still win races/championships. The first 4 motos of this season are perfect examples. After an amazing series of opening laps at Lakewood he could have/should have focused on maintaining a gap over Dungey. Instead his brain went back to riding that 60: he needed to extend that lead to demonstrate the close wins at Hangtown and Freestone were an aberration.

Most of Stewart's accidents result from failing to recognize the need to ride cautiously. His brain is programmed to not only win, but win big. Most racers understand that victory by 1 seconds pays the same amount of points (and bonuses) as a 30 second margin. If James could download that fact into his brain, we're having a very different discussion.
BAMX
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BAMX 8/19/2012 9:21am
8/19/2012 9:21am
Law 131 wrote:
I admire the commitment, drive and cohesiveness of the Stewart clan to the goal of winning. Somewhere along the way, it appears that the value of...
I admire the commitment, drive and cohesiveness of the Stewart clan to the goal of winning.

Somewhere along the way, it appears that the value of finishing, at all cost, was lost.
Enduring Champions in our sport have all subscribed to this concept.

Recently, Alessi, has recaptured that concept and his results show it.
Winning is great but having consistent 1-DNF finishes never wins a championship.
mxnick
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mxnick 8/19/2012 9:26am
8/19/2012 9:26am
In my opinion, James has had too many concussions.

End of story.

It is the same problem as Pastrana and Hepler, although their concussions were reported in the media in much greater detail than James's.

The secrecy that seems to cloud around James has done a reasonably good job of concealing the issue, in my opinion as a bystander.

I wonder how (and even if) he might be able to beat it?
dcg141
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dcg141 8/19/2012 9:41am
8/19/2012 9:41am
If James can understand that his 90% can still win him races..and for sure championships he can extend his career. As you get older you have to come to grips with the changes and adapt to them. You learn that riding injured won't work anymore. You learn that in order to still compete you must be 100% physically. You must accept the fact that younger guys are just plain faster. But you use your experience and ride smart and wait for races to come to you.

The Shop

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MotoMalyDad
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MotoMalyDad 8/19/2012 9:54am
8/19/2012 9:54am
Speed.....Only 2 motorsports that flat out speed wins championships, drag racing and land speed racing, the rest is being faster than most other entries and being consistent . Heck in my mind, the occasion I catch a few minutes of roundy round NASCAR racing, I am thinking I could just keep it floored, turn left 4 times, if the tires could hold the corners and win... simple right ? I am guessing there is more to it or everyone would be win championships. I admit when James is on and in a grove no one is gonna keep up with him , but breaking bumps, ruts and hidden rocks come faster at light speed on a MX bike. Sometimes you get lucky and some times you crash. Sometimes you get up and finish, some times you see Doc Bodnar and the Asterisk medical crew. My prayer is for guys that keep missing half a season year after year after year with injuries to find another occupation in the MX world. Man I would hate to be TP199 at 50 or 60. Millions in the bank will never replace all the pain from all the injuries...
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DrSweden 8/19/2012 9:54am
8/19/2012 9:54am
yota wrote:
I've lived about 40 minutes from where James grew up for 25 years. Seen him ride many times. Watched him rail Gatorback on a 60 which...
I've lived about 40 minutes from where James grew up for 25 years. Seen him ride many times. Watched him rail Gatorback on a 60 which was a sight to see. One thing I've noticed is that James never seems happy just winning. He seems to need to win by a huge margin, almost like he feels the need to show the other guys how slow they really are compared to him. Like he wants to humiliate the guy in 2nd place. fire away.
bultokid wrote:
Actually great point. Watch the dvd Senna, Alain Prost said Senna's strength was his drive to beat him and his weakness was his desire to just...
Actually great point. Watch the dvd Senna, Alain Prost said Senna's strength was his drive to beat him and his weakness was his desire to just completely crush him. He wanted to destroy him so badly that he actually threw away some wins where he could have cruised to say a 10 second victory but crashed out trying to win by 30 seconds.......just way some cats are wired.
U guys have a point, of course similar thoughts have already been pounded repeatably, but this was nicely put in some new fresh way.

James would really benefit from a different approach to life and racing, his hot laps suggest a few extra years of wins and trophies, while his psyche suggests he's pretty much done with winning.

Or maybe it's the bike...
Cook441
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Cook441 8/19/2012 10:00am
8/19/2012 10:00am
90% wont win races especially next year with 5 guys within 5 tenths- I think someone nailed it about him not being able to crush guys- Those first few rounds would have been a lot different if Poto was on his back tire. Ive watched RD politely try to get around lots of guys and James was a beneficiary of that as well.In colorado RD had closed on him almost a second when he went down. James did lay a 2:14 that first moto but so did the lites guys on a rougher track 25 minutes later...just saying. Ive said it before the progression has happened. He created the scrub, combined with blazing corner speed and it gave him seconds on the others allowing him to crush comp. Now days I see 4 yr old pretending to scrub..its a part of everyday moto and the progression has closed the gap in speed making crushhing near impossible for anyone- Hence all the winners early on in SX last year. RD doesnt look it but he is every bit as fast as JS but maybe grew up taking a few more second and third places
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malachi177 8/19/2012 10:12am
8/19/2012 10:12am
Cook441 wrote:
90% wont win races especially next year with 5 guys within 5 tenths- I think someone nailed it about him not being able to crush guys-...
90% wont win races especially next year with 5 guys within 5 tenths- I think someone nailed it about him not being able to crush guys- Those first few rounds would have been a lot different if Poto was on his back tire. Ive watched RD politely try to get around lots of guys and James was a beneficiary of that as well.In colorado RD had closed on him almost a second when he went down. James did lay a 2:14 that first moto but so did the lites guys on a rougher track 25 minutes later...just saying. Ive said it before the progression has happened. He created the scrub, combined with blazing corner speed and it gave him seconds on the others allowing him to crush comp. Now days I see 4 yr old pretending to scrub..its a part of everyday moto and the progression has closed the gap in speed making crushhing near impossible for anyone- Hence all the winners early on in SX last year. RD doesnt look it but he is every bit as fast as JS but maybe grew up taking a few more second and third places
X2.....well said Cook.
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BR_HERO 8/19/2012 10:18am
8/19/2012 10:18am Edited Date/Time 8/19/2012 7:11pm
Yesterdays track was a mess for everybody, even Dungey crashed. James still has it, a lot of people seem to be forgetting the first 4 moto's of the season, he wrecks quite a bit sure, but shit happens.
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mx5471 8/19/2012 2:51pm
8/19/2012 2:51pm Edited Date/Time 8/19/2012 2:54pm
A lot of people here have said some pretty insightful things. And I think that to some point, they are all very possible. No one knows for sure. My dad said to me when I was kid, ( no matter how good you are, there's always some one better). He's almost 27 yrs old, hasn't ridden outside for quite some time, and is on a new bike. All those factors are against him. He won the 1st 2 races, and Dungey 2nd. But then it was over. His plus was just that he's a great rider and super fast at it . I saw a seminar that featured some of the greatest people in many sports, and when asked what was the key to their success, every one said, consistency. JS has been consistent in the past, riding so well, and winning just about every time. Everyone strives to win every race, but the fastest guy doesn't always win the championship. I don't suppose there's any one old enough on here to remember the story of the race between the tortoise and the hare. But, times are changing for him,as well as they are changing for all of us. Olympic athletes, (and I think he and the other great MX, SX riders should be considered at that level), are done in their early 20's. He worked his but off to get there and made it, and made a fortune. Age , money, fame. It all comes into play, and when the injuries pile up, you need to think. Maybe he needed more time to heal. As you get older that happens. Just in my opinion, I think he'll win he 2013 SX, if he doesn't crash out, because RV has been out a long time also. But I don't think we'll see him after that. He can't last a full MX season, with the younger, fast, hungry for victory guys out there now. He'll have to push too hard, for too long. He had his time, but time passes by.
gotwings
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gotwings 8/19/2012 4:26pm
8/19/2012 4:26pm
I think he owes that photog a huge apology...
panic revver 8/19/2012 4:28pm
8/19/2012 4:28pm
gotwings wrote:
I think he owes that photog a huge apology...
Why?
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plowboy 8/19/2012 4:37pm
8/19/2012 4:37pm
Seat time and something to offset his ADD. Practice and focus. He's still the "fastest man on dirt". PERIOD.
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MX558 8/19/2012 4:59pm
8/19/2012 4:59pm
The days of James dominating are over when everyone is healthy. When the outdoors started Ryan was on a brand new bike with no former testing. James was on RC, CR and RD's RMZ, big difference. RD was on his ass as the races went on and was gaining rapidly went James crashed the first time. I do think he'll do better in sx though.
motov8tedcre8tor 8/19/2012 5:06pm
8/19/2012 5:06pm
plowboy wrote:
Seat time and something to offset his ADD. Practice and focus. He's still the "fastest man on dirt". PERIOD.
That's the problem...he's "on dirt" way too much. If you said he was "fastest man on two wheels" I would still have a argument about that. There are at least four guys just as fast or faster than him and they don't (normally) crash nearly as much.
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Cook441 8/19/2012 5:10pm
8/19/2012 5:10pm
plowboy wrote:
Seat time and something to offset his ADD. Practice and focus. He's still the "fastest man on dirt". PERIOD.
motov8tedcre8tor wrote:
That's the problem...he's "on dirt" way too much. If you said he was "fastest man on two wheels" I would still have a argument about that...
That's the problem...he's "on dirt" way too much. If you said he was "fastest man on two wheels" I would still have a argument about that. There are at least four guys just as fast or faster than him and they don't (normally) crash nearly as much.
yep 4 in his class and a serious group of contenders are a coming...Tomac ran a 213 second moto on a rougher track...he was the fastest man on dirt yesterday at least thats what the facts show.
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ocscottie 8/19/2012 5:16pm
8/19/2012 5:16pm
Just saw this on twitter: (MXPTV)

James Stewart OUT For The Season

Bad luck struck James Stewart once again at Unadilla as he ended up dislocating his finger in the 2nd 450 moto yesterday. We are hearing that James will be out for the remaining 2 rounds of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series due to this injury he suffered at Unadilla. More information to come here as soon as we know.
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ocscottie 8/19/2012 5:19pm
8/19/2012 5:19pm
..and on RX:

Racer X has learned that Yoshimura Suzuki's James Stewart suffered a broken finger when he crashed in the second moto at Unadilla. The injury will knock Stewart out of action for the remainder of the season. We'll post more details on this situation when they become available.

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aFACEdismembered 8/19/2012 5:20pm
8/19/2012 5:20pm Edited Date/Time 8/19/2012 5:21pm
Scottie beat me.

Broken finger and out for the rest of the nationals. Sad

Every time he hits the ground it's like flipping a quarter and hoping he comes up unharmed. He falls to many times to outrun his injury odds any more. Have much improved and faster 450cc scooters done James' style in? Carmichael stated numerous times how he had to change his riding style over the years just to keep ahead of James. Is Stewie now in that area?
ocscottie
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ocscottie 8/19/2012 5:24pm
8/19/2012 5:24pm
With only 2 rounds remaining, it shouldnt really be any big surprise for him to sit them out.
motov8tedcre8tor 8/19/2012 6:00pm
8/19/2012 6:00pm
aFACEdismembered wrote:
Scottie beat me. Broken finger and out for the rest of the nationals. :( Every time he hits the ground it's like flipping a quarter and...
Scottie beat me.

Broken finger and out for the rest of the nationals. Sad

Every time he hits the ground it's like flipping a quarter and hoping he comes up unharmed. He falls to many times to outrun his injury odds any more. Have much improved and faster 450cc scooters done James' style in? Carmichael stated numerous times how he had to change his riding style over the years just to keep ahead of James. Is Stewie now in that area?
I'm wondering why there isn't someone in his camp, maybe his dad or the team manager who can sit down with him and have a looongg serious talk about changing his approach to racing because obviously, something ain't working here, and hasn't been for at least 3 years. Make his top priority to ride more conservatively and finish on the podium (or top 5 which he can probably still do easily) and looking more at the big picture and actually finishing every race instead of always taking unnecessary chances and trying to win by 30 seconds and risk a likely crash and yet another injury. Adopt a approach more like Dungey and stop taking all of the reckless risky chances on the track that he is known for. I think the guy has got to be tired of this endless cycle of crash-injury-comeback-crash that he has been doing for the last three years. RC changed his approach his last few years and actually became a better rider because of it. Stewart should seriously consider doing the same or he's not going to be around much longer.
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Mike D 8/19/2012 6:18pm
8/19/2012 6:18pm
Bubbas world, impersonating an officer, firing Aldon Baker, firing Larry Brooks, signing with JGR (to ride that backwards bike), how many hits to the head? and KARMA.
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gsxrcr28 8/19/2012 6:37pm
8/19/2012 6:37pm
Mike D wrote:
Bubbas world, impersonating an officer, firing Aldon Baker, firing Larry Brooks, signing with JGR (to ride that backwards bike), how many hits to the head? and...
Bubbas world, impersonating an officer, firing Aldon Baker, firing Larry Brooks, signing with JGR (to ride that backwards bike), how many hits to the head? and KARMA.
Karma? What s joke.
So I guess karma is what injured Reed, RV and Canard then. That's stupid.
He is still a multi-millionaire with a private jet, massive homes, a fleet of cars and more wins this outdoor season than any rider except Dungey.
We all saw how well and in control he was the first four motos this season, dude should just not try and win right off the couch, that's JMO. Give it at least a race before trying to beat Dungey.
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willie838 8/19/2012 7:07pm
8/19/2012 7:07pm
ocscottie wrote:
I seriously dont even understand it anymore....it is practically beyond comprehension.
being there live, i was in the back end so he had the lead in moto 1 when he first came around and i was pumped as hell.

then i think 2 laps later he just didn't come back around for about 3+ minutes and was buried mid pack (ugh)

then moto 2 he was in the mix and i was over near the wall and there again, he just never came around again.


i'm a big js7 fan so yesterday was pretty disappointing for sure. hope he's ok.
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ocscottie 8/19/2012 7:40pm
8/19/2012 7:40pm
I hear ya Willie, I just really hope he is gonna be 100% come Jan. for A1. We are in for one helluva 2013 if ALL the riders come in primed and ready, it has the potential to be an incredible season, but how many times have we heard that before? As for my above comment you quoted, i typed that before i heard more of story that is going on. I wont elaborate more on that, but lets just say a healthy, happy and comfortable James is a joy to watch, and i hope we get to see more of it in '13!

Seriously though, i cant think of any other rider that has ridden/lived under the microscope their entire life as James Stewart has. The pressure to WIN every time you take to the track has to be overwhelming at times, and he has had that pressure practically since day 1. Lets just hope that whatever problems he is having, whether it be psychical, mental or whatever! gets straightened out and we see him at his best come next year.
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Hando 8/19/2012 8:01pm
8/19/2012 8:01pm Edited Date/Time 8/19/2012 8:07pm
i hope he makes it through this sx season safely...

in regards to the torch being passed on..i watched RD put it to him at A1 2010 in person..it was an awesome race and RD almost won.

i wont be as much of a fan next year since RD will have plenty of other competition to nip at his heels..JS was my dude this year because i wanted to see someone put it on mr.perfect
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Ramrod 8/19/2012 8:03pm
8/19/2012 8:03pm
I think Stewart should suck it up and ask RC for help. They have the connection with Suzuki. Would make for a good story plus good PR for Suzuki.
Hot August Night 8/19/2012 8:11pm
8/19/2012 8:11pm
Mike D wrote:
Bubbas world, impersonating an officer, firing Aldon Baker, firing Larry Brooks, signing with JGR (to ride that backwards bike), how many hits to the head? and...
Bubbas world, impersonating an officer, firing Aldon Baker, firing Larry Brooks, signing with JGR (to ride that backwards bike), how many hits to the head? and KARMA.
Could be worse. He could be some douche posing with a fish that he conquered, as his avatar on vital.
Flip109
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Flip109 8/19/2012 9:33pm
8/19/2012 9:33pm
2006 FIM World Supercross Grand Prix Champion
2007 FIM World Supercross Grand Prix Champion
2006 Motocross of Nations Champion
2008 Motocross of Nations Champion

2009 FIM World Supercross Champion
Regional finals
2003 AMA 125 West Supercross Champion

2004 AMA 125 East Supercross Champion
National finals
2002 AMA 125 Motocross National Champion
2004 AMA 125 Motocross National Champion
2007 AMA Supercross Champion
2008 AMA Motocross National Champion

2009 AMA Supercross Champion

One badass lawn dart. Lol I just enjoy he's still out there. Crash or win he brings it! I say we just
enjoy him while we have him Wink
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GuyB 8/19/2012 9:37pm
8/19/2012 9:37pm
Hando wrote:
i hope he makes it through this sx season safely... in regards to the torch being passed on..i watched RD put it to him at A1...
i hope he makes it through this sx season safely...

in regards to the torch being passed on..i watched RD put it to him at A1 2010 in person..it was an awesome race and RD almost won.

i wont be as much of a fan next year since RD will have plenty of other competition to nip at his heels..JS was my dude this year because i wanted to see someone put it on mr.perfect
He was "your dude"...so you used the fan claiming rule?

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