MALCOLM STEWART DELIVERS FOURTH-PLACE RESULT AT ANAHEIM 3 SX.
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RIDER SITS FOURTH OVERALL AFTER SIX ROUNDS.
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team rounded out the west coast stretch of the 2022 AMA Supercross Championship on Saturday and the third time was a charm for Malcolm Stewart, who delivered his best Anaheim SX result with a fourth-place finish at Round 6 in Anaheim, California.
Stewart, the fifth-place qualifier, came together with another rider off the start of 450SX Heat 2 and he found himself back in 10th on the opening lap. He immediately began a charge through the field, placing his FC 450 Rockstar Edition into the top-five late in the race, ultimately securing a fifth-place transfer.
In the Main Event, Stewart grabbed a top-five start and he battled in the front pack early on. Moving into fourth around the halfway point, Stewart set his sights on a podium position and he fought hard in the final laps to ultimately come away with fourth on the night. Six rounds in, Stewart holds fourth overall in the 450SX Championship standings.
“I felt like the entire day was good,” Stewart said. “I already knew the track was going to be really dry and slick because we already did two races and this was the final round. I felt like the biggest factor of tonight was the whoops and I just tried to be smart – this was one of those races where you could gain some and lose a lot, so I’m happy with taking another top-five finish. We’re definitely keeping the ball rolling.”
Team rider Dean Wilson fought his way through a challenging night. Qualifying a season-best seventh, Wilson found himself mid-pack off the start in 450SX Heat 2 and he made his way into a qualifying position by lap two. However, he went down just after the halfway point and dropped outside the top-nine, resulting in a trip to the last chance qualifier. With a solid performance in the LCQ, Wilson secured a second-place transfer into the Main Event. He got off to a 13th place start in the main and he climbed his way up to the top-10 battle. He continued to charge through the second half of the race, finishing 12th on the night.
„My night was a little bit rough,” Wilson said. “I qualified well but I crashed in my heat race and had to go to the LCQ, which is never ideal. After that, I was far outside on the gate and was just kind of in traffic the whole time and the best I could do is 12th. I really struggled in the main with flow, I felt like I was kind of fighting my bike everywhere. Not my best night but we’ll work on trying to be better.”
In the 250SX division, team rider Jalek Swoll started off with a fifth-place start in 250SX Heat 2 and he battled just outside the podium all race long. He passed into fourth on lap five and held that position until the final lap when a mistake ultimately dropped him back to fifth. In the Main Event, Swoll put himself into a great position off the start as he battled in podium contention on the opening lap. While running fourth, Swoll suffered a crash through the whoops that would ultimately end his night early.
“It was a short night but I felt good and I’m thankful to be leaving from the crash healthy,” Swoll said. “I felt good – like I got back up to how I was feeling before the crash at A1. I made some good passes at the beginning and felt like I was on that forward charge and the whoops bit me and bit me quick. It’s all good, I’m going into this break with my head down and we’ll get back to being on one of these top-three steps.”
Round 7: February 19 – Minneapolis SX – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Round 6 Results: Anaheim 3 SX
450SX Results 1. Jason Anderson (KAW) 2, Eli Tomac (YAM) 3. Justin Barcia (GAS) 4. Malcolm Stewart – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing…12. Dean Wilson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
250SX West Results 1. Christian Craig (YAM) 2. Vince Friese (HON) 3. Michael Mosiman (GAS) … 21. Jalek Swoll – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
450SX Rider Point Standings 1. Eli Tomac – 134 points 2. Jason Anderson – 122 points 3. Chase Sexton – 116 points 4. Malcolm Stewart – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 112 points…11. Dean Wilson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing – 72 points
250SX West Rider Point Standings 1. Christian Craig – 148 points 2. Michael Mosiman – 120 points 3. Hunter Lawrence – 119 points … 12. Jalek Swoll – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 53 points
Text/Bild: Husqvarna