Stewart and Wilson on Oakland

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Stewart delivered a top-five result at Round 2 of the 2022 AMA Supercross Championship in Oakland, California. Building from a seventh-place finish at the opening round, Stewart continues to generate momentum into a favorable start to the new season. Teammate Dean Wilson followed up with a top-10 finish in the 450SX division.

Stewart came out of the gate strong in 450SX Heat 1, putting his FC 450 Rockstar Edition into a top-three position off the start. While pressuring for the second-place position, Stewart made a mistake that sent him off the track but he rebounded quickly to manage a fourth-place transfer into the Main Event. Stewart didn’t get off to a great start in the Main Event and he put his head down to climb into a 10th place position on the opening lap. Relentlessly charging, Stewart broke into the top-five halfway through the race and he rode strong in the second half of the race to maintain a fifth-place finish at the second round.

“I think the night was actually kind of quiet for me,” Stewart said. “I’m stoked on the way I’ve been riding but starts are holding me back a little bit. It’s part of racing and we can take what we’ve learned from here and move forward. We’re still in a really good position for points so I’m stoked on that and just the whole program I’ve been on, I’ve never had this much fun! It’s only the second race and I feel like I’ve been racing for so long. The whole vibe and happiness has been great, so I’m looking forward to another great week.”

With a solid top-10 in qualifying, Dean Wilson lined up in in 450SX Heat 1 where he grabbed a top-five start. Battling just behind his teammate Stewart in fourth for most of the race, Wilson made a late-race mistake and ultimately finished sixth. In the Main Event, Wilson got off to a 12th place start and he chipped away all race long to ultimately secure a top-10 finish.

“Overall, tonight was better than the first round,” Wilson said. “I got a good start in the heat race but I rode tight out there. In the Main Event, I didn’t get a great start but I ended up getting 10th. It’s not what we want but only can keep striving to be better and fight with those guys to get to the next step I need to be.”

Team rider Jalek Swoll sat out for the second round as he continues to recover from a heat race crash at last Saturday’s opening round in Anaheim.

Round 3: January 22 – San Diego SX – San Diego, California

Words and images: Husqvarna