Red Bull/KTM Race Report - San Diego SX‏

Red
Bull/KTM riders Andrew Short and Mike Alessi put their KTM 350 SX-F
race machines inside the top ten for the second week in a row this
time at the 7th
round of the series in San Diego, CA at Qualcomm Stadium.

Rain
leading up to the race created a muddy race course for the riders as
they headed to the first practice session. Short shined in the first
practice turning the 4th
fastest time in his session. At the end of the second session Short
remained in the top ten fastest times qualifying 9th
overall while Alessi qualified 17th.

Both Red
Bull/KTM riders earned a gate spot in the second heat. Alessi got a
great jump off the start rounding the first corner in 2nd
position while Short wasn’t as fortunate and came around in 7th.
Alessi made a few mistakes on the first lap and dropped to 5th.
He then began to battle with his teammate for that position as Short
fought his way forward. When the checkered flag flew, Short crossed
the line in 5th
while Alessi qualified 7th.

KTM fans
everywhere were on their feet at the start of the Supercross main
event as both Short and Alessi came around the first corner in 2nd
and 3rd
respectively. It was Reed and Short who competed for the holeshot
while Alessi cut inside at the end to put two KTM’s into the top
three. A few laps into the race Short was sitting 3rd
while Alessi had dropped to 6th.
Short worked hard to maintain his pace out front while trying to hold
off both James Stewart and reigning Champion Ryan Dungey.
Unfortunately, both were able to move around Short and by the fifth
lap he was 5th
with his teammate directly behind him.

The Red
Bull/KTM riders did not separate too far away from each other after
that. Short and Alessi ran 5th
and 6th
for the majority of the race. Around the thirteenth lap Alessi began
to get heavy pressure from Davi Millsaps. Alessi fought hard to
protect his lines and try to keep Millsaps at bay for a good six
laps. With three laps to go Millsaps was able to move around Alessi
and took over 6th
place. Alessi then found himself in a battle with Ryan Villopoto and
Brett Metcalfe who had both been trailing Millsaps earlier in the
race. Alessi, Villopoto and Metcalfe battled the entire last lap.
With three corners to go, Alessi made a mistake in a corner and
allowed Villopoto to get by. As he tried to protect his line in the
next corner he made another mistake and lost his rhythm losing the
next spot to Metcalfe. When Alessi crossed the finish he was 9th
overall, marking his best finish so far this season.

“I am
bummed that I wasn’t able to hang on to my 6th
place position which I maintained through most of the race, but I
feel really good about my performance today. This is the first race
where I kept my pace through all twenty laps and by doing so I was
able to better my best finish. I’m pumped to finish inside the top
ten with Short for another weekend,” remarked Alessi after the
race.

Short
went on to finish the night in 6th
overall after a last lap battle with Millsaps. “I don’t consider
myself a decent mud rider so I was a little worried about this race.
This track was also pretty tricky and there were a few sections that
I struggled with tonight. Overall, I am glad to be in the top ten but
I really would have liked to finish in the top five,” stated Short.

Both
riders will now head to Atlanta for the next round of the AMA
Supercross Series next Saturday night.

Overall
Results –

1. Chad
   Reed
   

   
   

2. Ryan
   Dungey
   

   
   

3. James
   Stewart
   

   
   

4. Trey
   Canard
   

   
   

5. Davi
   Millsaps

   
   

6. Andrew
   Short – KTM
   

   
   

7. Ryan
   Villopoto
   

   
   

8. Brett
   Metcalfe
   

   
   

9. Mike
   Alessi – KTM
   

   
   

10. Justin
    Brayton
    

    
    

11. Nick
    Wey
    

    
    

12. Kyle
    Regal
    

    
    

13. Fabien
    Izoird
    

    
    

14. Chris
    Blose
    

    
    

15. Ivan
    Tedesco
    

    
    

16. Michael
    Byrne
    

    
    

17. Maxime
    Lesage
    

    
    

18. Austin
    Stroupe
    

    
    

19. Weston
    Peick
    

    
    

20. Kevin
    Windham
    

    
    

Overall
Point Standings –

1. Ryan
   Villopoto – 146
   

   
   

2. James
   Stewart – 143
   

   
   

3. Chad
   Reed – 130
   

   
   

4. Trey
   Canard – 130
   

   
   

5. Ryan
   Dungey – 123
   

   
   

6. Andrew
   Short – 95
   

   
   

7. Brett
   Metcalfe – 93
   

   
   

8. David
   Millsaps – 78
   

   
   

9. Justin
   Brayton – 76

   
   

10. Ivan
    Tedesco – 66