James ‘Bubba’ Stewart is just happy to be back racing again.

Stewart returned from injury at the popular RedBud United States Pro Motocross Championships’ sixth round in Buchanan, Michigan, on Saturday, overcoming stifling humidity and scorching temperatures to finish third overall, once again putting his Team Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Suzuki RM-Z450 on the podium.

After two weeks of rest and rehabilitation away from the bike, Stewart took a conservative approach to rough-and-tumble RedBud event.

Turning in solid laps in practice, he qualified second and got a good gate pick. In the first 30-minute moto, Stewart got a good start and was running second when he suffered a few mishaps, but recovered to finish sixth.

In the second moto, he slotted into third place long before the race’s halfway point and turned consistent laps for the remainder of the moto. The sixth- and third-place finishes gave Stewart third overall for the day.

The day’s winner was KTM rider and championship leader Ryan Dungey, with Honda’s Justin Brayton finishing the day in the No.2 spot overall.

“It was an eventful day,” said Stewart. “I was second fastest in practice, but in the first moto, I realised I wasn’t quite 100%, but I still wanted to try and have a decent moto. After one crash and a stall, I ended up sixth. In the second moto, I came from 10th and made my way up into third and just sat there.

“But it was good to be racing again, the Yoshimura Suzuki team was working hard and the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 was running great. The fans at RedBud are awesome and I was happy just to be back racing. Now I’m looking forward to Millville next weekend.”

Team-mate Brett Metcalfe, who’d moved into the top five in the overall championship points standings after the last round at Budds Creek, suffered a broken tibia and fibula in a recent practice crash. Although Metcalfe is on the mend, he’ll most likely be out for the rest of the season.

The next event is the seventh round of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on July 14 at the Spring Creek National in Millville.

Photo courtesy Suzuki