Husqvarna 450 class riders Malcolm Stewart and Dean Wilson made their 2022 AMA Pro Motocross at the Unadilla National after both missed the start of the season with injury.
With a start just outside the top-10, Malcolm Stewart ran in the 12th-place position early on, bouncing between 13th and 14th for the remainder of the race. Easing his way into the long motos, Stewart ultimately finished 14th. In Moto 2, he grabbed a 14th-place start and immediately went to work in chasing down his teammate, Wison, ahead. Hovering around the top-15 battle, Stewart dropped a couple of spots later in the race, settling for 16th at the line.
“First outdoor race back in eight years and I think it was a good day just being back,” Stewart said. “Of course, the results didn’t show it, but just having that race back there again was really good for me,” Stewart said. “I’m happy to be back, but we have some work to do. I’m really looking forward to Budd’s Creek because that’s obviously one of my favorite tracks. I learned a lot, and you can’t replicate racing, so this is just a good race just to come back to – to get through it.”
After several months off of competition due to injury, Dean Wilson was happy to make his debut alongside his teammate. However, with a less-than-ideal gate pick in Moto 1, Wilson struggled to get a good position off the start. Sitting around 23rd on lap one, he began picking off riders to get just inside the top-20 nearing the end of the race, earning his first point of the season with a 19th-place finish. In Moto 2, Wilson chased the top-10 battle with teammate Stewart on his heels, locking in 13th for the remainder of the moto.
“On paper, it wasn’t very good but it was a long time off,” Wilson said. “I think it was five months off total, so it’s great to be back. I really struggled with the track, it was so choppy and I feel like I’m not quite in shape where I should be yet. I got arm-pump really bad in the first moto so I told myself to just get through it and the second race was a little bit better. I think I’m going to get better every moto, it’s just tough coming back, especially when all these guys have been racing and they’re in the flow. By the end of the summer, hopefully I’ll be where I should be.”
Both riders will be back in action for the Budds Creek National in Mechanicsville, Maryland, next weekend.
