Hurricane Irene held off just long enough for the riders to take to the track at the tenth round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series at MX-338 where Red Bull/KTM rider Mike Alessi earned 5^th overall in the 450 Motocross class while his teammate Marvin Musquin took 6^th overall in the 250 Motocross class.

The Southwick, MA track is known for being the toughest on the circuit as it is entirely made of sand. Despite the challenges of the track many riders were praising the course today as it is one of the only tracks that could withstand the weather that hit the area during race day. “Hard rainfall made for poor vision on the track. It’s all about getting out front early today,” commented Alessi. “If you don’t get a great start you are going to quickly lose time on the leaders.”

Luckily, Alessi got the start he needed rounding the first corner in 3^rd place at the start of moto one. He fell to 5^th at the end of the first lap and then began a battle with Chad Reed. Alessi was able to hold off Reed for the first three laps before falling to 6^th place. He remained in 6^th position throughout the first half of the race before moving up to 5^th when Justin Barcia DNF’d on lap eleven. One lap later, Alessi was handed another gift when Chad Reed also dropped out of the moto moving Alessi to 4^th. He would hang on to 4^th for the remaining five laps of the race to earn his seventh 4^th place moto finish this season.

In moto number two Alessi earned a 7^th place start. He moved up to 6^th place on the second lap and remained there the entirety of the moto. Although he was able to secure 6^th place in the second moto it was not without challenges. Alessi suffered two crashes in the moto but was able to recover from both to maintain his position. His 4-6 moto scores earned him 5^th overall for the day and helped him remain 5^th in the championship point standings; an impressive position considering he missed the first two rounds of the series with an injury.

In the 250 class, Musquin suffered from a poor start in the first moto. He managed to end the first lap in 14^th place and began to start his charge through the pack. By the fourth lap he had moved inside the top ten and set his sights on the two riders in front of him. On the next lap he passed Ryan Sipes and Shawn Rife to move into 8^th. He passed Lance Vincent on lap six to climb to 7^th and held that position to the checkered flag.

In moto two he garnered a better start. This time he came around the first lap inside the top ten. He moved to 8^th by lap three and had moved into 6^th by lap four. He looked to be on a charge forward as he began to creep up on the top five. Unfortunately a mistake around mid-moto dropped him to 8^th and he lost another position to Blake Baggett with only four laps to go. Never one to give up, Musquin was able to make one final pass on James DeCotis for 8^th place where he finished for the second moto. His 7-8 finishes awarded him 6^th place for the day.

Next Event: Steel City – Delmont, PA – September 3, 2011

Overall Results 450 Class –

1)    Brett Metcalfe

2)    Ryan Villopoto

3)    Ryan Dungey

4)    Justin Brayton

5)    Mike Alessi – KTM

6)    Jake Weimer

7)    Justin Barcia

8)    John Dowd

9)    Les Smith

10) Kyle Chisholm

Overall Results 250 Class –

1)    Tyla Rattray

2)    Dean Wilson

3)    Gareth Swanepoel

4)    Alex Martin

5)    Blake Baggett

6)    Marvin Musquin – KTM

7)    Broc Tickle

8)    Gannon Audette

9)    Justin Bogle

10) Darryn Durham

Championship Point Standings 450 Class –

1)    Ryan Villopoto – 431

2)    Ryan Dungey – 423

3)    Chad Reed – 366

4)    Brett Metcalfe – 304

5)    Mike Alessi – 243

Championship Point Standings 250 Class –

1)    Dean Wilson – 438

2)    Tyla Rattray – 400

3)    Blake Baggett – 398

4)    Kyle Cunningham – 264

5)    Eli Tomac – 246

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