James Stewart, Blake Baggett To Skip Arlington Supercross
Cycle News Staff | February 18, 2016
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing will not compete in this weekend’s Arlington Supercross. The team learned this week that Blake Baggett will be unable to race for next few rounds due to continued pain associated with his injured shoulder. James Stewart has also elected to continue training for a return and will sit out this Saturday’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Baggett raced the most recent round of the series in San Diego, but found that his shoulder was still very painful under race conditions. He visited a specialist once back home in California, and it was discovered he had severe inflammation of his shoulder socket.
“The extra stress put on the shoulder on Saturday was just too much,” said Mike Webb, Yoshimura Suzuki’s team manager. “We don’t have a certain timetable on Blake’s return. It depends on how he reacts to treatment, but he hopes to be back after he sits out a few rounds and gets some rehab in.”
Stewart reports he is greatly improved from the concussion he suffered earlier this season, but he feels he hasn’t had enough seat time on the bike yet to make a return this weekend.
“James wants to get some laps on the bike this week and next before he tries to come back,” Webb explained. “Right now it’s just a matter of getting laps in to get his fitness level back up to where he can feel comfortable for an entire race. He’s shooting for an Atlanta return, but that’s not set in stone. Obviously it’s been a difficult Supercross season for us, but injuries are part of the sport and we want our riders to be healthy and confident that they are ready to go before trying to race.”