AMA National Motocross, Sacramento, CA: Round One: Alessi Flawless

The first round of the AMA Outdoor National Motocross Championship started out with a bang for Mike Alessi as the young Red Bull KTM rider collected a 1-1 in both motos.

In Sacramento, CA dark skies hovered over the track while the Red Bull KTM team prepared for the MX season opener. 40 riders lined the gates for moto one and as the gate dropped, Alessi grabbed the holeshot and checked out, while Zach Osborne, in his first pro motocross race showed maturity and determination, pushed his way to the front finishing a solid sixth. Nathan Ramsey was shoved to the back at the start but moved his way up to eighteenth where he finished. As the skies opened up and the rain came down, Jay Marmont was battling in the top ten until a rock smashed into his goggles, breaking the lens and giving him a severe black eye. Not one to give up he tried to continue but his eyesight was too poor, forcing him to pull off the track.

Moto two, Alessi was second off the line, closely trailing the leader to capitalize on any mistakes. That time came shortly when leader Josh Grant bobbled and fell at the end of the first lap and Alessi took over the lead, never to look back. On the wet and slippery track, Ramsey moved up to third place while Osborne was ninth and Jay Marmont was in the top twenty. With the rain now pouring down, the track was deeply rutted and treacherous. Ramsey crashed going up an uphill double, but continued on and finished ninth. Osborne ran into some bad luck as his clutch level broke off, forcing him to retire from the race.

"I had a perfect day today and led every lap in moto one," said an ecstatic Mike Alessi. "I’m trying to ride consistent and be patient because I learned last year that I have to be patient. It’s not smart to try to do it all in the first five laps."