Team USA, led by Honda factory rider Andrew Short, is leading after one day of the three nights of the Modus Bercy Supercross, held in Paris, France on Friday night.
Short was in great form, winning his heat race over French rider Pascal Leuret (Honda) and American Mike Brown (RWJ Honda), then going out and winning the main event after a poor start saw him come through and pass early leader Benjamin Coisy.
Short was happy to be on the podium in one of his favorite races of the year.
“I love Bercy,” Short said. “It’s a great race and tonight I was able to get a nice win for my new Honda team. I worked hard to get into the lead and everything went my way in the final.”
The opening night of Bercy saw a near sell-out crowd witness some action-packed racing and surprising results. While Short showed results early, favorite Mickael Pichon, of the Tiscali Honda team, struggled a little after crashing early in the night and fighting his way through the last chance qualifier. Pichon would eventually finish second to Short in the main event, and at times looked quick enough to stop the American assault, but a slow start from the outside of the grid was never going to help his cause.
Young American Mike Alessi, riding for the KTM factory, also struggled a little in Bercy, although at times looked at home around the difficult Bercy circuit. Alessi finished eighth in his heat race after holding down fifth place with one lap remaining. Alessi, who like Pichon started the final on the outside of the grid, crashed on the opening lap of the main event and never really had the chance to race for victory.
The Rest of the World team struggled all night with only Marc Ristori of Switzerland qualifying for the final. The ROW team had suffered several injury problems as original team riders Tyla Rattray, of South Africa, and Antonio Cairoli both pulled out after injuring themselves in previous Supercross races. Another South African, Gareth Swanepoel, just missed out on the final after finishing third in the Last Chance race.
MODUS BERCY SUPERCROSS FINAL
1. Andrew Short (USA/Honda)
2. Mickael Pichon (France/Honda)
3. Pascal Leuret (France/Honda)
4. Billy Lanilovich (USA/Honda)
5. Brock Sellards (USA/Suzuki)
6. Marc Ristori (Swizz/Honda)
7. Pierre Renet (France/Yamaha)
8. Mike Brown (USA/Honda)
9. Sebastien Pourcel (France/Kawasaki)
10. Mike Alessi (USA/KTM)
Team results: 1. USA 10pts, 2. France 12pts, 3. Rest of World NQ
