Fresh off of a two-moto sweep (after penalties) at Hangtown, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi was riding a high of confidence as he, and the rest of the Lucas Oil/AMA Pro Motocross Championship chasers, headed to Freestone County Raceway in Wortham, Texas.
And why not? Alessi is easily the best starter in the entire world of motocross (and when you start up front, certainly it’s easier to finish there), and he’s fit, fast, and determined.
Alessi didn’t get the holeshot in both motos, but he did start just behind Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short. It wasn’t long, though, before he was in the lead, and he quickly split, leaving Short and the rest of the field quite literally in his dust.
Moto two wasn’t that easy for Alessi, though – actually, it was easier. Alessi actually got the holeshot in moto two over GEICO Powersports Honda’s Dan Reardon. This time, he stayed completely clean throughout the moto, with the only roost he encountered coming from lapped racers as he smoked through the pack.
Alessi’s second-consecutive 1-1 overall win (and second EVER overall win in the class) moved up to 31 points ahead of championship rival and teammate Chad Reed, who is suffering from a mystery ailment that won’t allow him to eat or drink as he would like to. Reed is hopeful that his ailment will be cured in the short term, and that he will be more than a match for his teammate over the rest of the series.
Reed was third overall on the day with a 5-2, just behind hometown hero Short with a 2-3.
In the 250 class, it’s almost becoming predictable. In all six motos run this far this year (including Texas), Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel has won the first moto of the day while Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey has won the second. At Glen Helen, this resulted in an overall win for Dungey, while at Hangtown the overall went to Pourcel. In Texas, the overall returned to Dungey, who went 2-1 to win the event over Pourcel (1-4) and GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard (3-2).
Pourcel trails Dungey by only six points after six motos in the championship, while Canard is another 10 points behind.
