Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127941
FREE CYCLE NEWS STICKERS! cation earlier that day. Stewart took con; trol at that point, then raced away unchallenged for the eventual victory and World Championship title in the class, topping recent Lake Whitney championship winner Jesse Casillas, Stull, Bess and Team Green's Sean Collier. Team FMF/PJ1/Thor-backed Daniel Blair became the only 80cc double-class winner by earning victories in both the 80cc (14-16) Stock and Modified divisions. Blair, who is a top local 12Sec Pro rider in Northern California, opted to ride the minicycle division one last time. "This year in July, I plan to race my first professional outdoor National," Blair said. "It was hard to ride the 80cc class here in Vegas because I haven't ridden a mini since October of last year. The bike felt small and awkward." Although Blair only won a single moto, his consistency put him at the top of the Stock division, where he used a 31 showing to top Team Yamaha-backed Jonathan Shimp's 2-2 and Billy Laninovich's 1-3. In the Modified (14-16) class, Blair's 2-2 finishes topped Shimp's 1-3 and Troy Adams' 4-1. Team Green/R&D/Fox-backed Mike Alessi served notice that he has reached the next level in the small-bore divisions by means of his eight out of eight moto wins in the 60cc (9-11) Stock and Modified divisions and 50cc (6-9) Super Pee Wee class. Alessi lived up to the hype, faced .the competitors straight up an!! left undefeated, and he was the only racer of the weekend to score three separate class titles. In the Super Pee Wee division, Alessi rebounded from a midair collision with R&D's Cole Seely to come back and retake the lead by the end of the first lap. From there on, Alessi raced to the victory over Seely and Cobra-mounted Mike Nicolini, who worked up from a mediocre start to nab third. Alessi faced formidable competition from Florida's Davi Milsaps in the 60cc Stock (9-11) class, where the two riders battled intensely for the first half of the race. From there, the Milsaps made a few mistakes that allowed Alessi to pull away for the win. Florida-bred, Performance Engineering's Matt Goerke gated well to finish third behind Milsaps. These three riders were the only 60cc riders consistently clearing the track's challenging, slanted, fourth-gear double jump. In the 60cc Modified (9-11) class, Alessi was riding a highly modi6ed KX60 utilizing a Curnutt "no-link" sus; pension system (much like KTM's n.?w PDS linkageless system), and walkeg away to the win over Goerke and Milsaps. Florida b~ys Milsaps and Kyle Chisolm got their revenge in the 80cc Modified (7-11) class, where Milsaps scored an impressive victory with a gaping holeshot that led to insurmountable leads. Chisolm took a lonely seconej over Alessi. The World Mini Grand Prix wouldn't be complete without the Pee Wee classes, and this year entries were on the rise as usuaJ.: "Not long ago, we just had Yamahas, and there were onl:,. about 20 to 30 kids riding around," Ron Henrickson said. "But now we have 300 Pee Wee racers on super-fast KTMs, Cobras, Actions Lems, Wasps, Huskys and TMs - it's really come a long way." Kyle Keylon and Brandon Large had arguably the best Pee Wee battle of the week in the 50cc Stock (7-8) division.