KTM Race Report From Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross at Pala Motocross

Pala, CA

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.

Nicoletti earned a 12th place start in first 250 motocross moto and maintained that position for quite a few laps. At one point he had started to struggle with his line choice and dropped back to 16th. With only a few laps remaining he picked up his pace and passed back every rider he had let by and then some. He eventually finished 11th in the first moto – marking his best season finish so far this year.

In the second moto Nicoletti had a similar start near 11th place. He raced in that position for the majority of the race climbing as high up as 9th and dropping as far back as 14th before eventually finishing the race in 13th. His 11-13 scores earned him 11th overall for the day.

Jagermeister/KTM rider Sarah Whitmore also came out and competed in the Women’s Motocross class aboard her KTM 250 SX-F race machine. Whitmore struggled in the first moto with bike set-up and finished 11th. In the second moto she got pushed back on the start and came around the second corner in 23rd position. By the time they came around the first lap she was sitting in 14th. On the second lap she continued her mission to move forward and charged up to 10th. She picked off two more riders until she was sitting in 8th place. She then began to battle with Vicki Golden and Sherri Cruse for the remainder of the race. Whitmore and Cruse battled for 7th position right to the finish line with Cruse just edging out Whitmore for the place by a few inches.

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)
6. Kyle Chisholm (9-5)
7. Kevin Windham (7-8)
8. Justin Brayton (12-7)
9. Kyle Regal (5-14)
10.  Nick Wey (11-9)
11.  Dan Reardon (16-10)
12.  Ben Evans (15-12)
13.  Michael Byrne (14-13)
14.  Mike Alessi (8-21)
15.  Matt Goerke (10-40)

Overall Results 250 Class –
1. Dean Wilson (1-1)
2. Tyla Rattray (2-2)
3. Trey Canard (4-3)
4. Eli Tomac (8-4)
5. Justin Barcia (6-5)
6. Cole Seely (3-12)
7. Wil Hahn (7-7)
8. Broc Tickle (5-9)
9. Martin Davalos (14-6)
10.  Les Smith (13-11)
11.  Phil Nicoletti (11-13)
12.  Austin Howell (10-14)
13.  Tommy Weeck (9-18)
14.  Gareth Swanepoel (38-8)
15. Topher Ingalls (15-15)

Overall Results Women’s Class –
1. Ashley Fiolek (2-1)
2. Jessica Patterson (1-2)
3. Vicki Golden (3-6)
4. Tarah Gieger (7-3)
5. Mariana Balbi (5-5)
6. Alexah Pearson (9-4)
7. Sherri Cruse (8-7)
8. Tatum Sik (6-9)
9. Sarah Whitmore (11-8)
10. Jacqueline Strong (10-14)