JGR Releases James Stewart
If you've read my stuff or listened to the Pulpmx Podcasts and Show, you know that this has been coming for a while. I was originally told it was going to be last Monday or Tuesday but I guess things got held up. James Stewart has been released by JGR Yamaha because, well, because he wanted to get out. He wasn't happy with the bike, he feels like it's the reason that he hasn't been "James Stewart" lately and look for a coming PR in the next few days about Stewart jumping to Suzuki and racing for the Yoshimura Suzuki team starting at Hangtown in two weeks.
The PR itself is really short, like wayyy shorter than I thought it would be. I know there isn't really hard feelings personally with this thing-sometimes things just don't work- and I thought there'd be a quote from Coy Gibbs in there saying fluffy stuff about Stewart and wishing him well personally. One thing is for sure, the amount of time lawyers from both sides took to get Stewart out of the deal wasn't represented in this PR. If it was, the thing should be as long as a phone book!
James is taking a gamble here, he's betting on himself getting better results on yellow and I guess we'll see. I know one thing, the sport just got a whole lot more interesting.
Here's the PR-
JGRMX and James Stewart Mutually Agree to Part Ways
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (May 6, 2012) – Effective immediately, JGRMX (Joe Gibbs Racing - Motocross) and James Stewart Jr. have mutually agreed to release Stewart from his contract for all Racing and Media Relations responsibilities that were assumed by him at the beginning of the 2012 racing season. We wish to thank James for his contributions and wish him the very best for the future.