WORLD SUPERCROSS GP ROUND ONE

WORLD SUPERCROSS GP ROUND ONE

Text Dan Paris
Photos Ed Gatner

Reed Wins, Stewart taken out of Toronto SXGP by ambulance

Considered by some to be a practice round, the opening round of the Amp? d Mobile World Supercross Championship in Toronto, Canada Dec 2 has turned out to be perhaps the most crucial round of the entire series. Yamaha?s Chad Reed pulled away from Carmichael on lap one, with James Stewart back in tenth.

Stewart closed the gap on the leaders and after Carmichael crashed over a tuff-block, was within striking distance of Reed. The leaders pulled away from the field, swapping the lead several times while Travis Preston held onto a solid third. With four laps to go Stewart and Reed collided on the turn following the finish-line jump, and when Stewart re-entered the track he was t-boned by Preston sending both riders flying.

Carmichael had by now knifed his way to fourth, and with Reed long gone, he and Stewart battled briefly before he pulled away from the visibly wounded Kawasaki rider. Upon crossing the finish line Stewart collapsed, only to be attacked by an irate Preston as the crowd gasped and Canadian Motorcycle Association referees pulled them apart.

Stewart was later taken by ambulance to a Toronto hospital with rumored leg injuries, but his troubles weren?t over yet. Stewart had crashed into Suzuki?s Ivan Tedesco in practice, allegedly breaking Tedesco?s hand. Between that incident and Stewart?s main event track re-entry collision with Preston, he faces two protests lodged with the FIM.

If round one is any indication, this battle is bound to escalate when the Amp?d mobile World Supercross series moves to Vancouver, Canada next weekend.