Motocross: FIM Appeal Denied For James Stewart
Kit Palmer | April 29, 2015
Denied. That’s what the FIM did to James Stewart’s appeal that might have allowed him to compete in the upcoming Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Instead, the suspension will remain in place through August 11, 2015.
According to a release from Stewart’s Yoshimura Suzuki Team, they will continue to support Stewart and look forward to his return to competition.
Yoshimura Suzuki team manager Mike Webb said the appeal process has been frustrating and costly. There were several delays requested by the FIM throughout the appeal process.
“It was an incredibly frustrating process and disappointing decision, but we’ll have James on board with the team for 2016 and beyond and we look forward to his return. We have a few warm-up events later this year and then we’ll be back in full force for the 2016 Supercross season.”
“It’s extremely disappointing that my appeal was denied,” Stewart said. “But I’m glad this is over and now I can turn my full attention back to preparing for the few events I’ll be competing in this year and coming back strong for 2016.
“I thank Yoshimura Suzuki, my sponsors and all the fans who have given me a ton of support through all of this. The one thing this time off has done is made me realize how much I miss racing, so it’s going to be a great day for me when I get to see that gate drop again.”
The team says that Stewart will return to defending his title at the Red Bull Straight Rhythm event later this year, and plans to compete in the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas in October.
Kit Palmer | Editor
Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes ever since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.
