Mike Alessi was only fourth fastest in morning practice, but when it came down to the actual race there was no one who could match his speed under hot and brutal conditions at round three of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championships in Wortham, Texas.
Alessi put his Makita Rockstar Suzuki out front early in each moto – quickly passing Team Honda’s Andrew Short at the start of the first moto, and then grabbing his usual holeshot to start moto two. Once in the lead, Alessi quickly distanced himself from the field, riding to a 13-second margin over Short by the end of moto one and an amazing 27-second advantage over teammate Chad Reed by the end of moto two.
Short ended the day in second overall, adding a third place finishing in moto two to his runner-up finishing in the opening moto. Short’s performance was a big improvement over his first two races in California, and the Colorado native, who now calls Texas home, found the extremely rough track and mid-90 degree weather to his liking.
Reed finished third overall, his first podium of the year, with a 5-2 score. Reed, who has been battling a mysterious stomach ailment, ran fourth early in the opening moto but settled for fifth after JGR/Yamaha’s Josh Grant passed him late in the race.
Fourth overall went to Ivan Tedesco with a 4-9 finish. The Team Honda rider fell at the start of the second moto and was 28th at the end of the opening lap, but charged his way into ninth by the end of the 30-minute-plus-two-lap moto.
Off-roader Ricky Dietrich claimed the fifth position in his debut ride on a factory Kawasaki. Dietrich filled in this weekend for the injured Ryan Villopoto and surprised many people with a 7-6 finish.
Two Australians and a New Zealander filled the sixth through eighth positions, with GEICO Powersports Honda’s Dan Reardon finishing sixth (12-4), Suzuki’s Michael Byrne (8-7) seventh and JGR/Yamaha’s Cody Cooper (6-13) eighth.
In the 250 class, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel won the opening moto by 18 seconds over Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, but it was Dungey getting the overall win after taking a gritty win in the second moto, compared to a fourth for Pourcel.
Third overall went to GEICO Powersport Honda’s Trey Canard with a 3-2 finish.
450 Overall: 1. Mike Alessi (Suz); 2. Andrew Short (Hon); 3. Chad Reed (Suz); 4. Ivan Tedesco (Hon); 5. Ricky Dietrich (Kaw); 6. Dan reardon (Hon); 7. Michael Byrne (Suz); 8. Cody Cooper (Yam); 9. Weston Peick (Hon); 10. Justin Brayton (KTM).
250 Overall: 1. Ryan Dungey (Suz); 2. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 3. Trey Canard (Hon); 4. Blake Wharton (Hon); 5. Brett Metcalfe (Hon); 6. Tommy Searle (KTM); 7. Tyla Rattray (Kaw); 8. Broc Tickle (Yam); 9. Darryn Durham (Yam); 10. Kyle Cunningham (Kaw).
