Buchanan, MI – The largest crowd of the year turned up at the Red Bud Motocross National to witness an exciting weekend of racing on the anniversary of our country’s Independence.
In addition to Jagermeister/KTM rider Mike Alessi competing in the 450 class, KTM also invited 38 year-old veteran Motocross racer Mike Brown to fill in for the injured Tommy Searle. Brown had not competed in the 250 class since 2005 but was excited and ready for the opportunity. If that wasn’t enough, FMF/KTM rider and reigning GNCC XC2 Champion Kailub Russell decided to make his pro motocross debut in the 450 class at the Red Bud National.
Alessi and Russell were up first in 450 Group A practice. Alessi had solid practice times throughout the day and was able to qualify 8th heading into the main. Russell wasn’t as fortunate. "I struggled to adjust to the track in the first practice session and then I had a huge crash in the second practice session where I hurt my knee," commented Russell. He had to return to the pits to evaluate his injury and missed the remainder of the second practice session, and as a result, did not qualify. "I am disappointed in my performance today but I am more determined to qualify at another national. I am going to try to come back for Unadilla and hopefully will achieve my goal of qualifying for my first pro national."
Brown turned some fast lap times in the 250 practice but also had a few issues. He tweaked his knee in the second practice but still managed to turn lap times inside the top twenty. Not too bad for someone who got the call to race Red Bud three days before the race. "I had so much fun out there on the 250. It is definitely the fastest 250 I have ever ridden in my life," remarked Brown of his ride.
The 450 class was the first moto of the day. Alessi started 5th around the first turn and remained close to the top four as they made their way around the track. Unfortunately, he made a mistake on a step up jump at the back of the track part way into the first lap and fell dropping to 30th position. The remainder of the race he set out to make up as many positions as he could. He eventually passed half the field to move up to 10th place at the moto end. It was an impressive ride for such and unfortunate start.
In the second 450 moto Alessi again garnered a top ten start but made a few mistakes that dropped him back to 7th after the first few laps. He continued to push but lost two more positions before the moto end to finish 9th in the second moto. His 10-9 moto scores earned him 9th overall for the day.
In the 250 class Brown got out to a 10th place start in both motos. In the first moto, he started 10th and was holding his position when he made a costly mistake which caused him to stall the bike in a corner and dropped him to 24th. He spent the remainder of the moto picking off riders to eventually finish 19th. In the second moto he took his 10th place start and managed to use it to his advantage. After a few good battles with both Darryn Durham and Vince Friese, Brown was able to finish 12th in the second moto. His 19-12 scores earned him 17th overall in his first 250 motocross race in five years.
"I had so much fun today. I really enjoyed being here and revisiting with the fans. I love to come back here and race every once in a while in between the WORCS and EnduroCross races that I am currently contesting." Finishing right behind Brown were KTM privateer riders Killy Rusk and Phil Nicoletti. In addition, there were three more KTM privateer riders qualifying for the Red Bud main event: Tevin Tapia, Willy Browning and Greg Durivage - for a total of 6 KTM’s in the 250 main event.
Next Event: Millville, MN – July 17, 2010
Overall Results 450 Class –
1. Ryan Dungey (1,1)
2. Chad Reed (2,2)
3. Ben Townley (4,3)
4. Andrew Short (3,5)
5. Brett Metcalfe (5,4)
6. Josh Grant (6,6)
7. Kyle Regal (7,7)
8. Ryan Sipes (8,8)
9. Mike Alessi (10,9)
10. Nick Wey (9,12)
Overall Results 250 Class –
1. Trey Canard (4,1)
2. Dean Wilson (3,2)
3. Christophe Pourcel (1,5)
4. Justin Barcia (5,3)
5. Blake Wharton (6,4)
6. Tyla Rattray (2,11)
7. Broc Tickle (7,6)
8. Jake Weimer (11,7)
9. Martin Davalos (10,8)
10. Eli Tomac (12,9) Was this post helpful? Add yours to our service or subscribe to our feed above.
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