250/Lites Class Career
Alessi elected to sit out the 2005 Supercross season in order to prepare himself for his first full season as a professional motocross rider in the 125cc class (currently Lites Class). He had four podium finishes that year, two of which he finished first place overall. An on-track incident at the final race at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California led to his disqualification from the event. As a result, Alessi was put on a year long probation by the American Motorcyclist Association and finished 3rd overall in the championship.
The beginning of 2006 marked the first season of Supercross in which Alessi would be contesting. He struggled the first few rounds of the Supercross Lites West Region series, but began to find his rhythm towards the end of the season. He scored a top five finish in the last five rounds of the series that included two back to back 3rd place finishes at San Francisco and Anaheim. Alessi finished the West Region championship in 4th place. The final Supercross race of the season did not count for the Lites championship, but that did not stop Alessi from finishing a career best second place overall at the Las Vegas Lites East/West Shootout.
Riding the season ending success he experienced in Supercross, Alessi looked poised to win he's first professional championship in the 2006 Motocross Lites National Championship series. Alessi opened the series with a first place overall finish at the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Sacramento, California. He went on to score eight additional podium (top three) finishes. Unfortunately, his consistent success was not enough to best his amateur rival, Ryan Villopoto. Alessi finished the season second overall.
In 2007, Alessi moved over to contest the Supercross Lites East Region Championship. After one top three performance and two DNF's (did not finish), Alessi finished eighth in the championship.
Read more about this topic: Mike Alessi
Famous quotes containing the words class and/or career:
“He has more to impart than to receive from his generation. He is another such a strong and finished workman in his craft as Samuel Johnson was, and, like him, makes the literary class respectable.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I seemed intent on making it as difficult for myself as possible to pursue my “male” career goal. I not only procrastinated endlessly, submitting my medical school application at the very last minute, but continued to crave a conventional female role even as I moved ahead with my “male” pursuits.”
—Margaret S. Mahler (1897–1985)