It was the a key moment in a burgeoning rivalry of a 16 year old James Stewart and a 19 year old Chad Reed who were both in their AMA rookie seasons and both with a lot to prove.
Reed had dominated 125 East coast Supercross and won the title as a rapid Stewart crashed too many times to win the 125 West championship, with Travis Preston taking the title but Stewart was without doubt the fastest.
Fast forward into motocross and Stewart was the man to beat with his exceptional corner speed and jaw-dropping commitment and style but Chad Reed was the one man, with his smooth technical style, who believed he could beat the new American superstar – but Stewart wanted to show otherwise.
Up until then Reed and Stewart hadn’t went head to head often for the win but with Stewart out front and Reed in second, James decided to prove a point in a brutally emphatic way! He slowed down, let Reed pass him, passed Reed back and won the race just to show Reed he didn’t have the speed to beat him!
Stewart said after the moto: “Everybody’s been saying Chad Reed can beat me straight up and I just wanted to prove to everybody that he couldn’t. I let him by then worked my way by him, I was having a good time out there. I wasn’t worried, my physical condition is awesome.”
We asked James about his famous corner speed and he told us the reason behind it:
Watch the full event below:
