Mike Alessi is one of the lucky few to have ridden KTM’s 350 SX-F. He’ll be racing it in the 2010 Lucas Oils AMA Motocross Championship.
After a successful stint with the Rockstar Makita Suzuki Team racing in
AMA Supercross and Motocross competition, which included leading last year’s MX championship before a knee injury prematurely sidelined him, Mike Alessi has returned to KTM for the 2010 racing season.
But instead of banging bars inside America’s Supercross stadiums, Alessi was shipped off to Europe and given the assignment off getting KTM’s hot new 350 SX-F motocrosser up to speed in anticipation of its debut in the Lucas Oils AMA Motocross Championship this summer.
After a productive winter fine-tuning the 350 on Europe’s cold and soggy tracks, Alessi is back at home in Southern California doing final preparation for the kick-off of the Motocross season at Hangton in one month’s time. Additionally he, along with teammate Tommy Searle, will be racing the upcoming FIM USGP at Glen Helen Raceway.
Despite some of the rumors that Alessi and KTM would be parting company, He assured us that things couldn’t be better between the two of them. We caught up with the 22-year-old after his double wins in the Pro class at the REM Motocross.
WHAT’S NEW WITH MIKE ALESSI:
I’ve been testing a lot, been in Europe doing a lot of testing and stuff like that out there. It’s been good. We’ve learned a lot about the motorcycle testing it in Italy and France. Came back home at the end of February and we’re still doing testing to this day in April trying to get the bike a little better, the motor a little better so it’s going good. We’re getting things worked out and getting ready for the season to start in about a month.
OPINION ON THE NEW KTM 350 SX-F MXer:
Alessi has been racing the REM Motocross series at Glen Helen in preparation for the season. We talked to him there
.
It’s great. It’s a different motorcycle and you have to ride it for yourself to believe. I mean I can’t really explain how it is you just have to get on it and ride it to really understand what it’s like. But it’s a great motorcycle and I’m looking forward to this outdoor season.
RIDING WITH EUROPE'S TOP DIRT BIKE RACERS::
All I can say is that the riders are a little different. They ride in like a higher gear and they’re more kind of like lugging it [the engine] but they ride so smooth and fluid kind of like Kevin Windham they are just riding so easy they make it look effortless. Then you think ‘man they don’t look like they’re going that fast’ but they are hauling butt - they are fast. And when they get here for the GP the American’s are going to understand that and see that these guys are legit—they’re fast.
EUROPEAN TRACKS:
They are pretty much saturated: muddy and wet. They are a lot different than American tracks.
LIVING IN EUROPE:
While Alessi enjoyed his time in Europe he’s back to be at home in the U.S.
We lived in Rome for like three weeks or a month so it was nice. It’s a beautiful country. We saw the Coliseum, the, Fontana di Trevi, the Spanish Steps, and the Vatican. We saw some pretty neat things and got to see the world a little bit. It was nice country and Rome is a beautiful place. If the weather was a little better it would have been nice but you know that’s how it goes it was winter time there and they were getting a lot of rain and snow. Unfortunately we were there at the wrong time it had snowed in Rome and it hadn’t snowed in 25 years and we were lucky enough to be there. With the injuries I’ve had in my career my bones were definitely hurting [laughs]. Older people might understand so that part wasn’t fun. But we went there for the experience and to learn the bike and we got a lot of testing done so I can’t complain.
KTM TEST RIDING DUTIES:
Well they have a test rider. Michael Sleeter he lives here in California testing and riding. I’m testing with him and he’s doing most of the work. I’m just taking what he figures is good.
FUTURE PLANS FOR THE SEASON:
The season starts the weekend before the GP so we can’t put too much emphasis on the GP and doing anything crazy and getting hurt because we still have to worry about our season. I’m looking forward to the GP and do the best that we can and try to win to make the American fans happy. But if I can’t win I’m still going to try my best.
Alessi looks 100% back on form after suffering a knee injury last summer that ended his Motocross racing season early.
I love being with KTM it’s like a family atmosphere for me. I was always treated great with those guys and I kind of felt like that’s where I needed to be and that’s why I kind of decided to go back. I just want to thank all my sponsors KTM, Jagermeister, Red Bull, Airoh helmets, Alpinestars gear, X Brand goggles, my mom and dad, my girlfriend Danielle for all her support. And the good lord Jesus Christ for keeping me safe and giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do.
