This is the 2nd 125cc moto from the 2004 Hangtown Motocross in Sacramento, CA.
In 2004, Team Kawasaki's James Stewart, Jr. #259 was beginning his final Motocross season in the 125cc class. James finished 3rd overall in the 2003 125cc Motocross season with 7 overall wins and 14 moto wins, but he missed the first 4 rounds due to a horrific accident at the Las Vegas Shootout. The 2002 125cc champ was also riding on a 15-race win streak going back to the 4th round of the 2002 season at Southwick. With defending champ Grant Langston of Red Bull KTM riding in the 250cc class full-time due to KTM not unveiling their 250F until 2005, fans were predicting that Stewart would become the first ever 125cc rider to accomplish a perfect Motocross season; there was very little doubt in that.
James came off a masterful 125cc East Supercross season where he dominated; he won 6 of the 7 events -- 7 of 8 counting the Shootout. His only hiccup came at Indianapolis when he sat out the event due to two crashes in practice, sustaining a concussion and 2 sore shoulders. The final points tally read that James Stewart won the series with 150 pts.; the next closest was Team Suzuki rookie Broc Hepler #60 with 99. The Dave Coombs Sr. 125cc Shootout in Las Vegas was James' 18th career 125cc Supercross win -- a record that stands to this day. With that championship, James Stewart became the 2nd rider to win both divisional 125cc titles, which matched Ernesto Fonseca's accomplishment when he won the 125cc East in 1999 and the 125cc West in 2001; James Stewart won the 125cc West in 2003, and the 125cc East earlier in the 2004 calendar year. Adding in the 2002 125cc Motocross title, James became the first rider ever to win all 3 125cc championships.
Coming into the 2004 125cc Motocross season, James Stewart wanted to shatter all the 125cc records that many felt that Team Honda's Ricky Carmichael had put out of reach, following Ricky's graduation to the 250cc class in 2000. At the time, Carmichael was the all-time career 125cc Motocross winner with 26 wins; James Stewart was currently 5th on the list with 17. Stewart rode to a record 10 victories in his rookie year in 2002, and he won the final 7 events of 2003. As part of the series from the very beginning, there was little to no doubt that James Stewart could do what Ricky Carmichael did in the 250cc class in 2002 -- a perfect season.
In this moto, James got out to a good start, following a holeshot from AMSOIL Honda's Chris Gosselaar #35. Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Stephane Roncada #21 got around early for the lead. James, riding his KX125 2-stroke got up to 2nd methodically, and began to challenge Roncada for the win. James got around Stephane, but Roncada didn't go down without a fight. Just like at the Vegas Shootout, Stephane Roncada actually PASSED James Stewart, but James proved he couldn't be touched and made Roncada throw in the towel after passing him back several times. James rode to a perfect 1-1 sweep to begin the 2004 125cc Motocross season.
Unfortunately, this exact moto would mark one of the last times Stephane Roncada would battle for the lead. What many thought might be a battle between Stewart and Roncada (who lost out on the 2000 125cc Motocross Championship to Travis Pastrana), turned out to be one of the most dominating Motocross seasons by a rider since Ricky Carmichael won 9 of 12 events in 1999. Roncada suffered a case of food poisoning with Team Kawasaki's Paul Carpenter #48 and that ruined his season.
As for James Stewart, 2004 proved to be another ho-hum championship season. He went on to win the first 4 events of the season, but in the 2nd moto at Red Bud, everything went wrong. James would fall twice, and suffer a clutch problem. He would end up 35th in the 2nd moto for 7th overall (1-35), which would be his only loss of the 2004 season. Stewart would win out the rest of the season to total a record 11 overall wins and 23 moto wins out of 24, and a record 575 points out of a possible 600. It was Stewart's 2nd 125cc Motocross title in 3 years. James would leave the class with a record 28 career 125cc Motocross wins, 2 more than Ricky Carmichael's 26, 2 125cc Supercross titles, and a record 18 career 125cc Supercross wins (5 more than Jeremy McGrath's record of 13).
Enjoy.
15 авг 2016
