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Monday, January 09, 2006

KTM dominate Supercross Genoa

Mike Alessi is proving to be a very tough competitor in Supercross. Having already shown what a talent he is in motocross the young KTM rider will go into the 2006 AMA Supercross season with high hopes of victory. In Genoa, Italy he won his second european Supercross event this year and is looking a heavy favourite going into the Bercy Supercross next weekend.

Alessi went 2-1 for the two nights, with fellow KTM factory rider Sebastien Tortelli finishing with 3-3 and Billy Laninovich went 1-4, while Jeff Alessi finished with 4-5.The first night of the IP Supercross of Genoa was a great non-stop mix of SX and Freestyle. The race was sold out and, in a typical Euro fashion, the crowd was so noisy and warm all race long. The Genoa SX is the race that, before anyone else in the early ‘80s, brought the American SX concept to Europe. Georges Jobe, who is here for KTM, reminded me that he won the first edition (circa 1980) ahead of Danny “Magoo” Chandler (I still remember watching that race on TV and remaining with the mouth open for the tricks Chandler was able to do on his bike—that day I understood that I was in eternal love with SX).

The race is pretty carefully organized. Here the sponsors display the biggest banners ever seen in a supercross race, and the presentation is great and impressive. The lineup is pretty good in both SX and FMX.

Laninovich won an exciting main event. Alessi immediately took the lead and kept it for most of the race. Billy came strong from behind, put pressure on Alessi, and made the pass with just a lap or a little more to go. Third was a really good Tortelli, here debuting on a KTM in SX. Despite a little mistake in the second lap, he was consistently in third place and enjoyed it a lot. In the press conference he gave us many details about his testing process on the 450cc prototype he’ll use next year in the MX1 GP class. (The bike has been sent to the U.S., where he’ll test and ride it till March, when he’ll travel back to Europe before coming back to U.S. for a few Nationals.) He’s pretty happy with the way things are going, and it’s always great to see the smile on Seb’s face, considering the troubles he had to deal with in the recent seasons.

Josh Hansen crashed and Jeff Alessi finished fourth. Good speed for French Antoine Meo, who debuted on the Martin Honda (he crashed in the main event but was fast). The FMX contest was really good, with two ramps. Jeremy Stenberg won the best-trick contest, and the crowd went crazy for him. He deserved the first-night win for sure. Nate Adams (“Feels weird being back here,” he commented regarding the “crime scene” of the bad crash he suffered last year over here with the broken femur), Kenny Bartram, and friends offered a good show as well. It’s not over yet; there is one more day of racing at Genoa.

The second night Alessi just cleared off, winning ahead of Josh Hansen, and Tortelli.Genoa Supercross Main event results.
Friday nights Main Event
1. Billy Laninovich - Honda
2. Mike Alessi - KTM
3. Sebastien Torelli - KYM
4. Jeff Alessi - KTM
Saturday nights Main Event
1st Mike Alessi - KTM
2nd Josh Hansen - KTM
3rd Sebastien Tortelli - KTM
4th Billy Laninovich - Honda
5th Jeff Alessi - KTM