Image: Octopi Media.

Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha’s Malcolm Stewart continues to improve, notching another top-five finish in Daytona as he sets his sights on a podium in the back half of the season.

In his first season with what has become the premier Yamaha team, Stewart has been inside the top 10 in all but one 450SX main event in the 2021 Monster Energy Supercross season.

With three 450 riders in the program, the Star Racing team has been hard at work, with the goal of becoming a consistent podium contender in the class. On the heels of a two-week break in which the team did a considerable amount of testing, Stewart was on target with the team’s goals as he was in contention for a podium eventually walking away with a fifth-place finish.

“Tonight is proof that all of my guys’ hard work over the last two weeks has paid off,” team manager Jeremy Coker explained. “My riders have been training hard, and we’ve all worked together to get somewhere.”

“We are going to keep working hard and keep working to stay where we belong, fighting for podiums.”

With Stewart’s teammate Aaron Plessinger scoring his first career 450SX podium over the weekend at Daytona, we have to imagine it’ll only boost Stewart’s confidence in the bike, making it just a matter of time before we see Stewart find his way into the top three.

He’ll get another shot at it this Saturday, as the Supercross series moves to Dallas for a three-race residency inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington.