Start doesn’t hinder Stewart

James Stewart methodically picked off four riders to win his second consecutive supercross race Saturday night at Angel Stadium, but his archrival Chad Reed also picked up a victory of sorts.

Stewart was fifth after the opening lap but he passed Ryan Villopoto, Josh Grant and finally Kevin Windham to take the lead for good in the 20-lap main event of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series.

“I didn’t get the greatest start,” said Stewart, the series’ 2007 champion. “That’s the first time in a long time I’ve come from the middle of the pack.”

Reed, the reigning series champion, overcame a horrendous start -- he was last in the 20-rider field on the opening lap after being clipped from behind at the start -- to finish second on a Suzuki before 43,000.

“It was a super difficult track to pass on, so to get to second from last, that’s a win for me,” Reed said.

Windham finished third after leading half the race, while Villopoto was fourth and Grant fifth.

Three of the first six races on the AMA off-road motorcycle racing schedule are at Angel Stadium.

Grant, a rookie and Riverside native who won the first Anaheim race two weeks ago, contended for the lead early but faded on his Joe Gibbs Racing Yamaha.

Reed, who switched to a Suzuki team from Yamaha this year, also won one of the two qualifying heats Saturday. Stewart, who won last week’s race in Phoenix, won the other heat.

For Reed, an Australia native who turns 27 next month, the test this season is to prove he can win another championship with Stewart in the mix.

Reed won the title in 2008 -- and thus has No. 1 on his riding suit and bike -- after Stewart was sidelined with a knee injury early in the season.

A similar situation occurred in 2004 when Reed captured his first championship. He did so after supercross legend Ricky Carmichael, who has since left the sport to pursue stock-car racing, was out with a knee injury.

Reed, who has battled his own share of injuries while winning 35 races in his career, said he’s confident of keeping pace with Stewart through the full 17-race season.

“I feel like my lap times and my riding and everything are starting to come together,” Reed said before Saturday’s event. “We’ll be challenging for the win every weekend.”

In the sport’s second-tier Supercross Lites West series Saturday, Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey of Belle Plaine, Minn., won the main event for the second consecutive week with a five-second victory over Ryan Morais of Murrieta.

Supercross heads to Houston for its fourth race Jan. 24, then to San Francisco the next week and returns for its final season stop in Anaheim Feb. 7.

--

james.peltz@latimes.com