Langston wins his first AMA Supercross Championship; Stewart finishes fourth
in 250 action
PONTIAC, Mich. (April 9, 2005) - Team Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Grant Langston may not have won the last battle, but he won the war. The 22-year-old South African gave a nail-biting performance in the 125 main event to finish fourth, but it was enough to earn his first THQ AMA 125 East Regional Supercross Championship before a crowd of 51,142 at the Silverdome in Pontiac Michigan.
Langston began the night with a win, as he piloted his Kawasaki KX250F straight to the podium during his 125 qualifying heat. In the main, he needed at least a fourth place finish to solidify the championship. Though he was sixth following the first turn, Langston posted consistent lap times and earned the crucial points he needed.
Though Langston's finish tied him with Josh Hansen at 143 points, the championship went to Langston based on his three overall wins to Hansen's two. The feat also put Langston in the record books as the first rider ever to win a 125 World Motocross Championship, a 125 U.S. National Motocross Championship and a 125 Regional Supercross Championship.
"This was an amazing season for me," said Langston. "Winning the 125 Supercross Championship is a milestone in my career."
Team Monster/Pro Circuit/ Kawasaki rider Matt Walker fell on the first lap but continued on through the remainder of the race to finish 20th.
In the 250 action, Team Kawasaki's James Stewart was ready for a repeat performance of his win last week, after he posted the second fastest lap time in practice and won his 250 qualifying heat by nearly six seconds over the rest of the field. In the main event, Stewart got out of the gate strong and was steadily working his way through the pack before he slid out in a turn on lap four. The mishap dropped the young phenom back to seventh, but he charged his Kawasaki KX250 up to fourth place before the checkered flag dropped.
"I was really mad after I went down," said Stewart. "It's frustrating because my Kawasaki was running great and my team worked hard to win, but I still feel confident going into Seattle."
The THQ AMA Supercross Series heads to Seattle's Qwest Field on Saturday, April 16th for the 14th round of the 16-event series.
Source: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.