A season-best seventh position continued Malcolm Stewart’s mid-season uplift at Daytona’s eighth round of the 2024 AMA Supercross Championship, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider taking his third top-10 result in a row.
Stewart has been gaining race fitness and comfort as the 450SX season approaches its middle stages, powering his Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 450 Rockstar Edition to fourth place in the Heat Race. The Main Event was just as promising, overcoming grueling track conditions to claim P7 and make further inroads on the front-runners after missing much of last season through injury.
“Being the closest race to a hometown weekend for me, Daytona treated me okay,” Stewart said. “The Heat wasn’t too bad, vision was kind of tough being where I was, but we made some passes and ended up fourth in that one. Main Event, the track went away really fast and it was a typical, really hard Daytona. At the end of the day, we ended up P7 – it could have been better, could have been worse. My headspace is okay, we’re going to look forward to Alabama, get back to regular Supercross, and get back up front.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Casey Cochran impressed in his first 250SX Futures appearance of the season, qualifying on top of the charts this afternoon to take first gate pick for the Main Event. He recovered from a bad start to make his way to third position, opening his campaign with a podium result on the Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 250.
“I felt pretty solid all day, really comfortable, and was super-excited for the Main Event,” Cochran said. “It was a tough start for me, I was buried pretty far back and was struggling to get into a flow out there. It was one of those nights where you couldn’t really get into the rhythm you wanted to – the track was like a minefield getting around – so I’m happy to still get a podium finish.”
The weekend also marked the first showing for new recruit Landon Gibson in the 250SX Futures, the talented young rider on debut gaining immense experience on his way to 11th place. He ran as high as sixth at around halfway, only for a mistake to drop him down the order and to eventually take the checkered flag just outside the top 10.
“It was definitely a learning curve,” reflected Gibson. “I was far inside on the gate and got swarmed off the start in the Main Event, then later on, after the whoops I went down pretty hard. That was that and I know what I need to work on from here – I’m looking forward to lining up again now.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing 450SX regular Christian Craig is scheduled to undergo surgery next week on his ongoing elbow injury, which will extend his time on the sidelines. We look forward to welcoming him back to racing once he is healed and healthy to line up again.
Next Event (Round 9): March 9, 2024 – Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama
Round 8 Results: Daytona
450SX – Daytona Results
1. Jett Lawrence (Honda)
2. Eli Tomac (Yamaha)
3. Chase Sexton (KTM)
…
7. Malcolm Stewart – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
250SX Futures – Daytona Results
1. Drew Adams (Kawasaki)
2. Cole Davies (GASGAS)
3. Casey Cochran – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
…
11. Landon Gibson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
450SX Rider Point Standings
1. Jett Lawrence (Honda) – 160 points
2. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) – 150 points
3. Chase Sexton (KTM) – 147 points
…
12. Malcolm Stewart – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 79 points
17. Christian Craig – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 39 points
250SX Futures Rider Point Standings
1. Cole Davies (GASGAS) – 47 points
2. Drew Adams (Kawasaki) – 41 points
3. Parker Ross (Honda) – 36 points
…
8. Casey Cochran – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna – 20 points
18. Landon Gibson – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna – 11 points
