James Stewart began his title defence in style by winning the opening event of the 37th AMA Supercross/FIM Supercross World Championship in Anaheim, Los Angeles.
The 24-year-old from Florida, who crashed out of the season-opening race 12 months ago, saw off the challenge posed by rookie Ryan Dungey to win by almost 3.5 seconds.
But he was made to work hard for the 37th victory of his career, only taking the lead from Dungey on the 18th lap and pulling away on the last.
'We battled to the end. That's what racing's about' - James Stewart
Stewart, who was giving the new Yamaha YZ450F its first outing, was full of praise for the rookie who pushed him so far in front of 43,841 at Angel Stadium.
He said: "The beginning part of the race he was out really good. We stayed pretty much consistent. He was riding good. I was able to catch him. We battled to the end. That's what racing's about. When you get that close, you battle to the end. He's a great competitor."
Kevin Windham finished third ahead of fourth-placed Andrew Short and Ryan Villopoto, who was fifth, while Stewart's arch-rival Chad Reed suffered a broken front wheel on the first lap.
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