Stewart bounces back in Toronto

The see-sawing battle for 2009 AMA Supercross Championship supremacy has continued in Toronto with Yamaha's James Stewart winning his ninth race of the year ahead of Australian Chad Reed (Suzuki).

With four rounds left out of 17, Reed's lead has now been trimmed back to 8pts (293 to 285) as the championship is set to go down to the wire.

In Toronto, Stewart and Reed had made their way to the front by the end of lap one and, although the Aussie stayed close to his arch-rival in the first half of the race, he gradually lost touch and finished 12.4994secs behind Stewart.

In a season-best result, Josh Hill was third from fellow Yamaha rider Josh Grant and Ivan Tedesco (Honda).

"Every week it's 100 percent," said Stewart. "Everyone makes mistakes once in a while but it's a long championship and there's gonna be drama all the way to the end.

"I went too far inside (on the start), but it worked out and then I turned it on. I want to thank all my guys at San Manuel. We've been working hard all week to get here.

"At the end of the day, I know me, my team, and everyone involved are giving 100 percent and that's all we can do."

Unable to get into a rhythm on the rutted and rocky track, Reed made a number of small errors which allowed Stewart to get away.

"It was a really difficult track tonight, the ruts were gnarly, and underneath the dirt and the ruts there was a ton of rocks,” Reed  said. “I gave it all I had out there. I just made way too many mistakes and (James) slipped away.

“There were a couple of times I nearly went over the bars but managed to save it, so I had to back off and just settle. We all know the math if second is going to give me the win then I will play it safe."

In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Kawasaki's Christophe Pourcel won his fourth race of the season from Austin Stroupe and Broc Tickle to capture his first career AMA Supercross Lites Eastern Regional Championship with one race remaining.

The 14th round wil be contested at Jacksonville’s Municipal Stadium next Saturday.

For full results and standings, click here.