US Motocross Series: 12th round Pala, CA

Jagermeister KTM, Mike Alessi

The final round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship held at Pala Raceway proved to be a weekend filled with multiple ups and downs for the Jagermeister/KTM ride of Mike Alessi.

Saturday started off on a high note after Alessi turned the second fastest lap time in the first 450 practice. "I felt really comfortable on my bike and the track. I was really pumped with my overall practice results and was looking forward to the main," remarked Alessi. In the second practice session he continued to turn fast laps and ended up 3rd overall in combined practice times heading to the main event.

Alessi had a decent start after the gate drop for moto one rounding the first turn in about 4th position. He maintained that place for the first lap before he made a mistake and allowed a rider by and dropped to 5th. He remained consistent with his times and stayed near 5th for a while before he dropped back to 8th where he would eventually finish.

Alessi had trouble off the start of the second moto and came around 15th the first few corners. Once he got halfway around the first lap he encountered a mechanical problem with his bike that caused him to go off the track and stall his bike. He was about 20 seconds back from the tail end of the pack when this happened. At the conclusion of the first lap he pulled into the pits to have his bike checked and then quickly raced back out - almost a full lap back from the competition.

His results won't show it, but he put in a phenomenal ride during the second moto at Pala. He came from dead last to catch the tail end of the pack by the halfway point and proceeded to pass almost half the field in the remaining time. When the checkered flag came out he had passed up to 21st position. His 8-21 moto results earned 14th overall.

"I had a very inconsistent season. That's all there is to it. I am bummed I wasn't able to get a better result. I know that I am capable of better results and I know the bike is capable of better results and I am really disappointed we couldn't get everything together this year," remarked Alessi. "I am looking to learn from this season and I know it has given us some things to work toward and improve for the next season," stated Alessi.

Overall Results 450
1. Ryan Dungey (1-1)
2. Andrew Short (3-2)
3. Brett Metcalfe (2-3)
4. Ben Townley (6-4)
5. Ryan Sipes (4-6)
14. Mike Alessi (8-21)