Page 108 - ISSUE41

MIKE ALESSI
450 SX / 19TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / ROEWER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Mike Alessi’s best skill is his mastery of starts, no matter where he picks his gate he can typically beat about half the pack if not more to the first turn. Unfortunately getting a solid jump out of the gate has not been enough for the SmartTop MotoConcepts Honda, resulting with him falling back and often times falling out of qualifying contention. Looking for the jump in Indy, Alessi wanted to put it all together and not lose the valuable positions he gains out of the gate. For round eleven the well-known #800 qualified into the night show sitting in 16th. Going on to race the first 450 heat race of the night Alessi got a good start per usual, but was not able to hang on getting passed by some heavy hitters like the points leader Ryan Dungey. Finish- ing off in 8th, Alessi was headed to a semi. Riding a good race, he narrowly qualified into the main event getting the last transfer spot of fifth in semi 1. For the first time in a while the Honda rider didn’t get a powerful jump out
of the gate leaving him back in 20th for the first lap. With a lot of riders in front of him Alessi was going to have to do the passing to get to where he wanted. The competition has been fierce this year and it was going to be no easy task. His first pass was on Chisolm for 19th right around the third lap. But that is where it ended for Alessi riding the rest of the race in that 19th position where he finished. It wasn’t his worst race of the year considering he has missed two main events, but with a 10th under his belt we know he’s got it in him.
108 GRITMOTO • MARCH 19, 2017