Red Bull/KTM Race Report - three 350 SX-F's in the top ten - Houston SX

Short,
Roczen and Alessi Shine on the 350 SX-F at Houston SX

The
three Red Bull/KTM riders made history when they crossed the
checkered flag at the sixth round of the AMA Supercross Series each
finishing inside the top ten aboard their KTM 350 SX-F race machines.

It could
be the orange mohawk (see picture), his hometown crowd or more
experience on the bike, but one thing is for sure, something clicked
for Red Bull/KTM’s Andrew Short at the sixth round of the series in
Houston, TX.

In
practice, Short put together his best showing all season. He
qualified sixth fastest just a second off the pace of James Stewart
who turned the fastest lap. Ken Roczen, in his first-ever SX class
race, turned the 9^th
fastest time and Mike Alessi rounded out the group in 13^th.

Short
was up first in heat number one. The start of this race was quite
tricky as it was a very short straightaway followed by a tight left
hand turn. Short picked the very inside gate for his heat. He
actually didn’t get a great jump but as everyone pushed to the
outside around the first corner he snuck his KTM right up the inside
and came out 4^th
around the turn. Short turned up the heat within the first few
corners quickly moving into 2^nd
position behind early leader Ryan Dungey. Short held his pace and
chased Dungey the entire 8 lap heat to qualify 2^nd
overall.

Roczen
and Alessi were up next in heat number two. Roczen picked the same
gate Short had while Alessi was lined up about five more in toward
the box. When the gate dropped Alessi came out swinging in 4^th
place with Roczen a few spots back in 7^th.
On the first lap Roczen collided with Ivan Tedesco but managed to
stay on two wheels. “When I hit Tedesco I jammed my foot hard and
it hurt the same heel I had injured earlier in the season. It was
hard to ride but I knew I needed to keep going to qualify to the
main,” remarked Roczen. Alessi stayed in 4^th
position for the first two laps before dropping briefly to 5^th.
Meanwhile Roczen picked up the pace and moved forward. He was able to
overtake Alessi with two laps to go to qualify into his first-ever SX
main event with a 6^th
place finish. Alessi finished right behind him in 7^th
place.

All
three Red Bull/KTM riders lucked out at the start of the SX main
event by avoiding the first turn pile up. Short came around the first
turn in 6^th,
Roczen was running about 9^th
and Alessi managed to work his way up to 10^th
at the end of the first lap after being pushed off the track in turn
one.

From lap
one to the finish all three KTM riders remained inside the top ten.
Short held 6^th
throughout the majority of the race. On the final lap he began to
close in on the 5^th
place ride of Brett Metcalfe. After the first rhythm section past the
finish, Short was able to make the pass on Metcalfe and move into the
top five. He went on to finish 5^th
overall. “I was so excited to get 5^th
today. It was my goal to break into the top five at this race and I
am so

happy to
have achieved that in front of my hometown crowd. We made huge
progress with the bike this week and everything feels like it is
coming together right now. I was also able to move up in points
today,” mentioned Short after the race. Short now sits 6^th
in overall points.

His
teammate, Roczen also turned some heads aboard the bigger bike.
Roczen started in 9^th
position and moved up to 8^th
on the third lap. He held that position throughout the remainder of
the race and was able to capitalize on Metcalfe’s crash at the end
to finish 7^th.

“I was
not thinking very positive before the main event because my heel was
still hurting me from the heat. But it was not bad in the main and I
forgot about the pain when I was riding. I am so excited to finish
inside the top ten. I was more nervous than I had ever been going
into this race. The guys in the SX class have been my heroes for a
long time and it was pretty cool to get to race with them. I am very
happy to have raced this event and hope to do a few more,” stated
the happy 16 year-old after his impressive 7^th
place finish.

Helping
the team make history by being the third KTM 350 SX-F in the top ten
was Mike Alessi. He came around the first lap in 10^th
position and rode a strong consistent race maintaining his position
through the end of the race to mark his first top ten of the season.

“The
last two weeks I have made some changes to my program and am slowly
gaining back some confidence. My goal was to get inside the top ten
and now I just want to remain consistent and hopefully back it up in
San Diego. I am really pumped for the team tonight. To have all
riders finish inside the top ten is great for the Red Bull/KTM team
and especially the 350 SX-F,” stated Alessi after the main event.

All
three riders will pack their bags and head back to California for the
7^th
round of the series to be held at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA
next weekend. Short and Alessi will return to action in the SX class
while Roczen will step back onto his Lites bike to race the fifth
round of the West SX Lites Series.

Overall
Results SX Class –

1. Trey
   Canard
   

   
   

2. Ryan
   Dungey

   
   

3. Ryan
   Villopoto
   

   
   

4. Davi
   Millsaps
   

   
   

5. Andrew
   Short – KTM
   

   
   

6. Chad
   Reed
   

   
   

7. Ken
   Roczen – KTM
   

   
   

8. Brett
   Metcalfe
   

   
   

9. Ivan
   Tedesco
   

   
   

10. Mike
    Alessi – KTM
    

    
    

11. Thomas
    Hahn
    

    
    

12. Nick
    Wey
    

    
    

13. Justin
    Brayton
    

    
    

14. Weston
    Peick
    

    
    

15. James
    Stewart
    

    
    

16. Kyle
    Regal
    

    
    

17. Vince
    Friese
    

    
    

18. Chris
    Blose
    

    
    

19. Kevin
    Windham
    

    
    

20. Jason
    Thomas
    

    
    

Overall
Points SX Class –

1. Ryan
   Villopoto – 132
   

   
   

2. James
   Stewart – 123
   

   
   

3. Trey
   Canard – 112
   

   
   

4. Chad
   Reed – 105
   

   
   

5. Ryan
   Dungey – 101
   

   
   

6. Andrew
   Short – 80
   

   
   

7. Brett
   Metcalfe – 80
   

   
   

8. Justin
   Brayton – 65
   

   
   

9. Davi
   Millsaps – 62
   

   
   

10. Kevin
    Windham – 61