Press Release

Alessi Earns Season Best Finish at Seattle SX



Alessi
Shines at Seattle Supercross



Red
Bull/KTM Factory rider Mike Alessi earned his season best finish at
the Seattle Supercross when he crossed the line in 6th
overall at the end of the rough twenty lap main event.



Both
Alessi and his teammate Andrew Short looked strong upon arrival at
Qwest Field when Short qualified 4th
fastest in timed practice and Alessi was 10th.
Both riders were placed in the first heat based upon their qualifying
times.



It was
in the heat race where Alessi first showed the Seattle crowd that he
was ‘Ready to Race’ when he earned another signature holeshot
aboard his KTM 350 SX-F. Alessi maintained the lead for the majority
of the first lap before he was passed by James Stewart. Short was
next to pass Alessi and moved into 2nd.
Both Short and Alessi maintained their top three positions to qualify
into the main event. Collectively their 2nd
and 3rd
place heat finishes marked the best for the duo this season.



Alessi
had another decent start when the gate dropped for the main event,
rounding the first corner in 6th
position. He quickly moved into 4th
when two riders bobbled through the whoops and continued to charge
forward. On the next lap he made a pass on Kevin Windham to take 3rd
and even closed in on Chad Reed for 2nd
on the following lap. Alessi made a mistake in the whoops on the
fourth lap and allowed Windham to get back around. Alessi maintained
4th
position until the eighth lap when he got cross-rutted on a triple
and went over the bars landing on the cement pad on the side of the
race track. He quickly recovered only losing two positions. Two laps
later, Ryan Dungey suffered a crash and allowed Alessi to regain 5th
position. That position swap was short-lived when Alessi suffered
another set back in the same section he crashed in earlier, this time
landing off the track but safely riding it out to reenter behind
Dungey once again. Once back on course, Alessi held his pace and went
on to finish his best race this season with a 6th
place result.



“I
felt really good all day today and my bike was working great. I have
really picked up my training program as I begin preparation for the
longer motos outdoors and it is paying off. I am excited for the
break this weekend and looking forward to spending some time at home
before heading to Salt Lake City,” remarked Alessi.



Alessi’s
teammate, Short, did not have the race he anticipated. Short had a
great jump off the line but came together with Windham and then
collided with Austin Stroupe sending both riders to the ground in the
first turn. Short was slow to recover as the bike had landed on his
leg in the crash and he was also left with a broken clutch lever.
Despite starting approximately 40 seconds down from the leaders and
without a clutch lever, he charged forward to finish 10th
overall at the end of the race.



Short
commented, “As bad as the main event went for me, I am actually
excited about my night in Seattle. I rode great in practice and in my
heat and am pleased with the progress I am making. I am not
particularly found of the deep rutted courses and it was rewarding to
know that I was competitive with my lap times tonight. It’s
unfortunate that I had some set backs in the main event but overall I
am pretty happy with how I rode tonight. I am looking forward to the
final two races.”



Next
Event: Salt Lake City, UT – April 30, 2011



Overall
Results –


  1. James
    Stewart


  2. Kevin
    Windham


  3. Chad
    Reed


  4. Ryan
    Villopoto


  5. Ryan
    Dungey


  6. Mike
    Alessi – KTM


  7. Kyle
    Regal


  8. Davi
    Millsaps


  9. Tommy
    Hahn


  10. Andrew
    Short – KTM


  11. Michael
    Byrne


  12. Nick
    Wey


  13. Fabien
    Izoird


  14. Ivan
    Tedesco


  15. Jason
    Thomas


  16. Vince
    Friese


  17. Tyler
    Bowers


  18. Cole
    Siebler


  19. Chris
    Blose


  20. Austin
    Stroupe






Overall
Point Standings –


  1. Ryan
    Villopoto – 293


  2. Chad
    Reed – 287


  3. Ryan
    Dungey – 286


  4. James
    Stewart – 284


  5. Trey
    Canard – 255


  6. Andrew
    Short – 196


  7. Kevin
    Windham – 187


  8. Davi
    Millsaps – 158


  9. Justin
    Brayton – 141


  10. Ivan
    Tedesco – 134



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