From a press release issued by Kawasaki, which seems to contradict various Internet rumors:

JAMES STEWART AND KAWASAKI SIGN AGREEMENT

Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki Racer Signs through 2006

IRVINE, Calif.— James Stewart, the young supercross-motocross phenom from Florida, today signed a two-year agreement to continue with the Kawasaki motorcycles that have taken him to multiple national championships, at both the youth and professional levels. The announcement was made at Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) headquarters by Bruce Stjernstrom, director, professional racing.



“James has been part of the Kawasaki family since he began under the Team Green™ banner,” said Stjernstrom. “We agreed quite a while ago that Kawasaki was the best fit for James going forward,” continued Stjernstrom.

Stewart, 18, is considered by many to be the most talented young professional to slip into racing gear for the now burgeoning sport that draws tremendous stadium crowds as well as attracting an expanding national television schedule. His recent 125 Eastern Region AMA THQ Supercross Series title was just one among many that the affable racer has won since beginning his on-track career at the age of four. The Haines City, Fla., resident signed his first contract with Kawasaki in 1993, when he was seven years old, and he will soon pass all of the sport’s other 125 class competitors in total victories, all while riding his Kawasaki KX125.

According to Stjernstrom, Stewart will race 250 class motorcycles in both the 2005 AMA Chevrolet Motocross Championship and in the stadium-based AMA THQ Supercross Series.

Stewart said “Kawasaki has been like home for me since my early days as a Team Green rider. They have a bike that I’m really comfortable with and that will be a really big advantage as I make the step up to the 250 class.”

“I feel like I have some unfinished business here with Kawasaki. Everyone knows that the 250s are the big leagues of our sport and I’m looking forward to the challenge of winning at the next level,” Stewart concluded.

“The talent exhibited by James over the past several years is indicative of the type of positive influence he brings to everyone associated with him, and it also is a solid indicator of what the future holds for him, and Kawasaki,” said Stjernstrom.

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., (KMC) markets and sells at wholesale Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft, utility vehicles, power products and general-purpose engines. These product lines are sold through a network of more than 1,500 independent retailers. KMC and its affiliates employ nearly 2,400 people in the United States, with approximately 400 of them located at the Irvine, California headquarters.

Kawasaki’s tagline, “Let the good times roll™”, is recognized worldwide and the brand is aggressively carrying its heritage of power, performance, leading-edge design and exhilaration into the 21st century. Information about Kawasaki’s complete line of recreational products and Kawasaki affiliates can be found at www.Kawasaki.com.