Red Bull/KTM Factory rider Mike Alessi earned 5^th overall at his hometown race held at Pala Raceway. The Southern California race track was stomping grounds for the final round of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series.

Alessi felt confident on the track early on. “I have ridden at Pala Raceway quite a few times over the past two years so I feel comfortable on this course. It is definitely a challenging track but I’m prepared for how rough it will get and am looking forward to the motos,” commented Alessi after practice.

The #800 rider had 7^th gate pick heading to the first moto based on his qualifying practice times. That gate pick turned out to be the best one on the line as Alessi rocketed his KTM 450 SX-F to the front of the pack to grab the holeshot.

Alessi and his Red Bull/KTM led the pack around the first lap of the race. Alessi continued to hold his own for the next two laps before receiving heavy pressure from Justin Barcia, Ryan Dungey and Ryan Villopoto. Alessi dropped to 2^nd on lap four and remained in the runner-up position until lap seven where he was passed by series leaders Dungey and Villopoto. Once in 4^th he maintained a consistent pace and finished the race in that position.

In moto two Alessi was able to garner a top five start. He came around the first lap in 5^th place. He held that spot for another lap before dropping to 6^th. On the next lap he fell one more position and moved to 7^th. While in 7^th he held off the hard charge of Kyle Regal for the entire 30 minute moto. At the end of the race he was able to get a comfortable cushion on Regal and finished 7^th. His 4-7 moto results earned him 5^th overall for the day.

“I am happy with my overall result. I have been consistently finishing in the top five which has helped me in the overall point standings tremendously. I was able to finish fifth overall in the series which is really impressive since I missed two rounds earlier this year after my crash at Hangtown. I’m glad to finish this season healthy and I’m looking forward to beginning my training for next year,” remarked Alessi.

Overall Results –

1)    Ryan Dungey

2)    Ryan Villopoto

3)    Justin Barcia

4)    Brett Metcalfe

5)    Mike Alessi – KTM

6)    Kyle Regal

7)    Chad Reed

8)    Justin Brayton

9)    Jake Weimer

10) Les Smith

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