James Stewart came from behind to win Saturday night’s Monster Energy Supercross race at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada.
The Yoshimura Suzuki ace passed 14 riders in the 20-lap main event and beat Justin Barcia by 3.2 seconds to pick up his 49th career victory – moving him past Ricky Carmichael for second on the all-time wins list. Stewart now trails all-time leader Jeremy McGrath by 23.
“That was probably one of my best races ever, I’m speechless,” Stewart said. “To pass [Ricky] Carmichael and move into second on the all-time wins list is special. This hasn’t even set in yet. The fans kept me motivated tonight. I heard them through every pass, it was great.”
Ryan Dungey was not a factor for the win Saturday night, but continued to be “Mr. Consistency” by scoring his sixth consecutive podium finish. He was third ahead of Justin Brayton and teammate Ken Roczen.
Ryan Villopoto gutted out a sixth-place finish in Toronto despite fighting a bad stomach virus. The three-time reigning champion missed free practice and both qualifying sessions earlier in the day due to being at the hospital for treatment.
“We made the best of a bad scenario [today],” said Villopoto. “I woke up in a lot of pain this morning and the Asterisk Mobile Medical Crew thought it was best I [go to the hospital] to get checked out. I got out of the hospital and was lucky to make it in time for the night show. We salvaged a lot of points and I’ll go to the doctor back [home] in California to make sure we’re ready for St. Louis next weekend.”
Despite a valiant effort, Villopoto’s lead in the championship standings shrinks to 25 over Dungey, albeit still a full race advantage. Stewart is a further 14 points back.
The series heads to St. Louis, Mo. next weekend for round 13 of the title fight. FOX Sports 1′s live coverage begins March 29 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
