Alessi Earns 5th at Pala Motocross

Red
Bull/KTM Factory rider Mike Alessi earned 5^th
overall at his hometown race held at Pala Raceway. The Southern
California race track was stomping grounds for the final round of the
AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series.

Alessi
felt confident on the track early on. “I have ridden at Pala
Raceway quite a few times over the past two years so I feel
comfortable on this course. It is definitely a challenging track but
I’m prepared for how rough it will get and am looking forward to
the motos,” commented Alessi after practice.

The #800
rider had 7^th
gate pick heading to the first moto based on his qualifying practice
times. That gate pick turned out to be the best one on the line as
Alessi rocketed his KTM 450 SX-F to the front of the pack to grab the
holeshot.

Alessi
and his Red Bull/KTM led the pack around the first lap of the race.
Alessi continued to hold his own for the next two laps before
receiving heavy pressure from Justin Barcia, Ryan Dungey and Ryan
Villopoto. Alessi dropped to 2^nd
on lap four and remained in the runner-up position until lap seven
where he was passed by series leaders Dungey and Villopoto. Once in
4^th
he maintained a consistent pace and finished the race in that
position.

In moto
two Alessi was able to garner a top five start. He came around the
first lap in 5^th
place. He held that spot for another lap before dropping to 6^th.
On the next lap he fell one more position and moved to 7^th.
While in 7^th
he held off the hard charge of Kyle Regal for the entire 30 minute
moto. At the end of the race he was able to get a comfortable cushion
on Regal and finished 7^th.
His 4-7 moto results earned him 5^th
overall for the day.

“I am
happy with my overall result. I have been consistently finishing in
the top five which has helped me in the overall point standings
tremendously. I was able to finish fifth overall in the series which
is really impressive since I missed two rounds earlier this year
after my crash at Hangtown. I’m glad to finish this season healthy
and I’m looking forward to beginning my training for next year,”
remarked Alessi.

Overall
Results –

1. Ryan
   Dungey

   
   

2. Ryan
   Villopoto

   
   

3. Justin
   Barcia

   
   

4. Brett
   Metcalfe

   
   

5. Mike
   Alessi – KTM
   

   
   

6. Kyle
   Regal
   

   
   

7. Chad
   Reed

   
   

8. Justin
   Brayton
   

   
   

9. Jake
   Weimer
   

   
   

10. Les
    Smith