Photos by: Hoppenworld
23 year-old Malcolm Stewart might be the defending 2016 Eastern Regional 250SX Supercross champion, but it seems like that doesn’t mean too much to the current teams running in the AMA Supercross championship.
The younger brother of James [Stewart], is racing in Arnhem, Holland this weekend, and we caught up with him and talked about his struggle to find a ride for next year, and his desire to come back and show the teams just how good he can be.
Malcolm, first can you tell us about this Supercross in Arnhem? How much are you looking forward to racing again?
I am excited, but I can tell you I am not excited about the cold weather. I have never been here before, so I am enjoying that. There are some good guys here, like [Tim} Gajser and [Romain] Febvre, so it should be fun. It’s something new. I haven’t raced in Arnhem before, so it should be okay.
Do you have anything for the 2017 AMA Supercross season?
No, I don’t have anything going and that is why I have been pretty quiet lately. There are not many options to go with, and unfortunately the way the sport is everyone gets hurt. I guess I will have to be a fill-in rider. You know, I thought I got myself out of that situation winning a championship, but life goes on and I am not going to dwell on it.
It seems to me that there are riders who probably have a ride and are not as fast as you. Would you agree?
I wouldn’t say that, because if I said that it would make me look bad and there is a reason we are all dirt bike riders. There are riders who are better than others. At the end of the day, I felt I did a good enough job to deserve a ride. I don’t understand how I didn’t get picked. There are a lot of other riders who didn’t get picked either, so I am not going to hold my head down over it and people will get hurt and when that option comes, I will fill it.
What about James, your brother, does he have anything?
As of right now he doesn’t have anything. I know he is talking to people, but as of now he doesn’t have anything. We still have a couple of months before Anaheim 1, so anything can happen.
It must be difficult to be motivated not knowing if you are racing or not?
I mean each and every day I am waiting for them to return my motorcycle and it’s difficult, but I know I am not in this situation because of me. I don’t know why I am in this situation. I did my part and I am not going to get upset, because I did everything possible and won the championship. That’s how I look at it.
Do you think missing the outdoors might have effected you not getting a ride for 2017?
No, because I felt the way this sport works—if I didn’t do the outdoor—it shouldn’t matter. If I won a championship outdoors or indoors, it shouldn’t change at all. That’s how I look at it. A lot of people pick riders who are all-round, but I have proven I can race outdoors and I didn’t race outdoors because I was on a little bike. Being on a little bike and being 200 pounds, that is a struggle on my part. So I decided to sit it out and wait for something to happen and this is where I am now. Had I won the outdoor championship, who is to say I wouldn’t still be in this situation. It’s just meant to happen.
We are hearing that possibly in 2018 there could be 25 rounds of Supercross run around the world. For a rider who prefers Supercross, that has to be exciting?
That is definitely something to look forward to, but I mean I can’t look forward to anything. I can’t even look forward to 2017 and if I can’t get a ride now, then who knows what 2018 will bring. It’s one year at a time and go from there.
Last question. What have you got coming up in the next months?
I have Lille Supercross coming up and I always do Geneva Supercross. Between those two races, that is all I have to look forward to at the moment.
