Alessi Earns 2nd Overall at Southwick
Southwick, MA – Jagermeister/KTM rider Mike Alessi landed his KTM 350 SX-F on the podium at the 10th round of the series at Moto-X 338 to take 2nd overall.
The Jagermeister/KTM rider started his season off well with a moto win at Hangtown and a podium finish at the next round but has struggled to find his rhythm at the following rounds until today. The KTM rider looked strong in practice turning lap times within the top five overall fastest times.
He started around 8th place at the beginning of moto one and was able to charge up to 6th by the end of the first lap. He moved up to 5th on the second lap and remained there for the first half of the race. Around the 7th lap he was able to move past Kyle Regal for 4th position where he remained until the final lap. On the last lap, the current leader Brett Metcalfe ran out of gas and Alessi was able to capitalize on his misfortune and move into podium position. Alessi finished the moto in 3rd place.
"I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. After many weeks of struggling to find my speed – I have finally landed back on the podium. I am bummed for Metcalfe, but really excited for my team to get back on the box," commented Alessi.
In the second moto, Alessi started around 4th position and held his spot the majority of the race. At one point near the end of the moto, Alessi moved into 3rd when Kevin Windham made a mistake. Unfortunately, a lap later, Matt Goerke was able to make a pass on Alessi and he dropped back to 4th. Alessi eventually finished in 4th position. Combined his 3-4 moto results equaled an impressive 2nd place finish.
Phil Nicoletti remained on the FMF/KTM team for the second weekend in a row filling in for the injured Tommy Searle in the 250 class. Nicoletti had decent practice times and was riding quite aggressive, giving the FMF/KTM Team something to be excited about.
In the first moto, Nicoletti had a terrible start falling in the first turn. In the first lap he made a tremendous charge through the pack and was able to climb up to 25th. Unfortunately, he fell shortly after and once again had to climb through the pack. At the moto end, he was able to make his way up to 16th place.
"Needless to say, I am not happy with my overall position. I was feeling really strong on this track and am bummed I made so many mistakes. Two crashes in a moto is not going to help my results. I hope to fare better in the next moto and put my bike where it belongs," remarked Nicoletti.
Nicoletti started around 10th in the second moto and quickly passed up to 8th. He battled with a few riders and bounced back and forth between 8th and 10th place for the next few laps.
Nicoletti seemed like he might finish near the top ten until he stalled his bike with three laps to go. He couldn’t get his bike restarted quickly enough and lost many positions. He eventually finished the moto in 31st position. His 16-31 moto scores earned 20th overall.
In the Women’s class, Jagermeister/KTM rider Sarah Whitmore had an up and down day. She started the first moto in a good position and was sitting around 6th the majority of the moto. Unfortunately she stalled her bike with only a few laps to go and eventually finished 11th. In the second moto she had a much better start and was able to ride a mistake-free race to finish 4th overall. Her combined moto scores earned her 7th overall for the day.
Next Event: Steel City – September 4, 2010
Overall Results 450 Class:
1. Ryan Dungey (1-1)
2. Mike Alessi (3-4)
3. Matt Goerke (6-3)
4. Kyle Chisholm (4-6)
5. Kevin Windham (7-5)
Overall Results 250 Class:
1. Tyla Rattray (2-2)
2. Justin Barcia (4-1)
3. Trey Canard (1-9)
4. Wil Hahn (3-5)
5. Christophe Pourcel (7-3)
Overall Results Women’s Class:
1. Jessica Patterson (2-1)
2. Ashley Fiolek (1-2)
3. Tarah Geiger (3-3)
4. Sara Price (4-7)
5. Vicki Golden (6-5)
