Stewart Claims Maiden 450SX Win

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Malcolm Stewart has joined his brother, Supercross legend James Stewart, in the list of 450SX Main Event winners, as Malcolm captured his first-career 450SX Main Event victory over the weekend. The Floridian-local put on a spectacular performance at Tampa’s fifth round of the 2025 AMA Supercross Championship, inclusive of a dramatic pass for the lead on current 450SX leader Chase Sexton.

And not only did Stewart win in front of his home crowd, he was joined by his older brother on the night as he put on a headset on the podium and was interviewed by James himself and his fellow SX commentators. The pair have now become the only set of brothers to each have won a premier class main event in SX history.

Stewart’s day during Round 5 of the season started well, with the 32-year-old charging to the third fastest lap time on a dry, technical Tampa circuit which put him and his Husqvarna FC450 Factory Edition to the ultimate test. Stewart maintained his momentum from qualifying and went on to claim a second place finish in the Heat Race.

In the Main Event, Stewart got off the line well, with steady progress forward seeing him in second position by the midway mark. From there, he continued to close into the deficit of the leader, before utilising his superior whoop speed to complete what was ultimately a race-winning pass. That was all that he needed, as he went on to record his maiden premier class race win.

Malcolm Stewart:
“This has been an emotional rollercoaster to get here. I did my knee in ’23 and from that point I wasn’t sure… especially after last year, just not being able to figure it out and I was so down on myself. I felt like I was fighting everything, until my Dad sat me down and said ‘Look, either quit racing or go out there and make sure you have fun, because that’s why we do this in the first place.’ Fast forward from there to now in 2025, I had a great off-season, and I felt like I was in a position to do this. At my home race, I couldn’t hear my motorcycle at times the crowd was so loud! Between my Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team and my also family, it’s been a real effort together – this one is special!”

Last year’s 250SX West Champion RJ Hampshire made a welcome return to racing in Tampa, lining up as one of the favourites for the opening round of 250SX East Class competition. Wasting no time, the Floridian local got up to speed as the experienced racer traded times atop the qualifying timesheet, before posting the second-fastest lap-time.

A holeshot in the opening Heat Race of the series saw Hampshire complete a clean race, inching away from his rivals and taking a comfortable win, setting the tone for the Main Event onboard his Husqvarna FC250 Factory Edition. Unfortunately for Hampshire, a mid-field start was followed by an incident with a tuff block becoming attached to his motorcycle, ultimately losing significant time in the process and adjusting his race strategy to points-salvaging mode, going on to cross the line in 18th place.

RJ Hampshire:
“I was really excited to go racing again in Tampa, I qualified second and felt really good fighting for that top spot, and then took that into the Heat Race, which I won. Main Event, I didn’t get a good start and got pushed around a bit during the opening laps, and then around lap three I caught a tuff block on my footpeg, and from there the rest is history. I couldn’t get it out for some time and it’s disappointing because I felt really good tonight. It is what it is, I have dug myself a bit of a hole, although we’ve done it before and I know I can get out of it, so we’ll just get after it in these next rounds.”