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/128212
32nd Annual World Mini Grand Prix Las Vegas Speedway Alessi cleans up in Vegas eight qualifying motos of the 85cc Open Modified, Supermini and both Stock and Modified 85cc (14-16) events. In Sunday's finals, Alessi kept the one-armed bandit spinning, hitting the jackpot again and again to top the podium and secure four more championship titles to his already long list of accomplishments for this just-14year-old racer. Although most of the week was uneventful for young Alessi, there By KAT SPAN AND THE BECKSTER PHOTOS BY KINNEY JONES LAS VEGAS, NV, APR. 16-20 Honda's Mike Alessi were old ;JJ enough to gamble, he surely would have cleaned house at anyone of las Vegas' many casinos during the World Mini Grand Prix week. Instead, Alessi pulled on his lucky slot machine - in this case his Honda CRs - and ended the week with a clean sweep in all 7(f 60 MAY 7, 2003' cue I e n e _ s was one moto that saddened him a bit when he was booed by spectators at the end of the race. "My second race of the week, the 85cc 14-15 Stock division, I got cut off on the start and worked my way from 15th to second in the first lap," Alessi said. "A competitor and I came into a corner that was blind. I went outside and then went to the inside to block him. When we came over the next jump, one guy came out and one didn't. Everyone suspected that I took him out, but there was nothing wrong with the pass, as I never touched him." Kentucky's Jacob Saylor topped three of the four Pro events, winning the 125cc Stock and both 250cc Stock and Modified classes on his Yamaha/BSY -backed YZs. "I couldn't be any happier," Saylor said. "I got decent gate picks, good holeshots, put my head down and went for it." The only rider to stop Saylor's winning streak was Suzuki's Evan laughridge in the 125cc Modified Pro class. "I won my division race," laughridge said. "Jacob [Saylor] had been pulling good starts all week and having really good luck. Not me. I had bad gate picks and bad starts. I crashed in a couple of my races, but I knew if I could start with Jacob in that last race, I could ride with him and I could beat him," he said. "After all, I couldn't let him win all of them!" Suzuki's Joshua Lichtle was the only other rider to claim three wins, taking charge in the 125cc Stock and Modified Intermediate and the 250cc Modified Intermediate classes. Lichtie's performance also aided Suzuki's claim to its 11 th big Amateur venue in a row. Suzuki riders topped the podium 10 times among the 34 titles up for grabs. "I've been training really solid for the past six weeks going into this race, and it really paid off," said Uchtle. The remaining Intermediate win went to las Vegas' own Kyle Partridge. Partridge raced diligently throughout the week with top-five performances, but he took the 250cc Stock Intermediate with a 1-2 punch to Lichtle's 4-1 for second. "Kyle tore his ACl, MCl and meniscus the week before the World Mini, and he still raced," Suzuki's Motocross Support Manager Cole Gress said. "Pure determination and heart got him through the week and got him a championship and kept him in the top five. I am so proud of that kid." The youngest championship went to Adam Cianciarulo of Florida, who collected not only the 50cc Stock (1-6) title, but the Modified (1-6) title as well on Cobras.