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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128327
Clawson Motorsports/CMA Bounty Hunter MX Series
Round I: Salinas S por t s Complex
McGrath vs. Alessi!
By EDDIE
in front o f him w e re McGrath and a ve ry
impress ive Vincen t Blair. Riders were no t
allowed to pass until after the first tu rn . Once
they got there , it was mayhem! With years of
supercross expe rienc e at his disposal, McGrath
worked thr ough traffic qu ickly and was in the
top five halfway through the first lap, and he
took the lead less than three laps in. Alessi got
into second place quic kly, but McGrat h had
already developed a fo ur-s econd lead . W ith
clear trac k in front of the m, bo t h riders put o n
a clinic and left the rest of the field beh ind. The
o nly ot her rider clos e to their pace was Blair,
who worked up to third on his KTM. McGra th
set a pac e that Ales si ma tch e d but co uld n' t
GRAVEUNE
SAUNAS, CA, MAY 8
I
t 'S been a w hile since a local race got as much
atte ntion as the first round of t his yea r's
Bou nty Hunter Series. Fro m Internet message
boards to the pits at the Las Vegas Supercross,
th e mo t ocross commun ity w as abuzz wi t h
sp ec ul ati on a bout t he pend in g ma tc h up
betwe e n Jere m y McG ra t h an d one o f t he
newest members o f th e Pro ranks. Mi ke Alessi.
O f cou rs e , ma ny ot her ra ce rs plann ed to
attend, but the hype ar ou nd that im pe nding
duel took on a life o f its own .
Alessi was simply dom inant in the 12Scc Pr o
class. He got the holeshots in and ran away with
both qualifying motos. Behind him, the re were
some great battles be tween journeyman Pros
Michael Young and Jeff Willoh; Young preva iled
both t imes. going 2-2 fo r second overall.
Ales si got similar starts in the 25 0cc Pro
qualifiers . He go t a clear ho leshot in the first
race a nd buil t an early lead . By t he t ime
McGrat h got into second, Alessi had it under
control. The youngs ter was setting an amazing
pace, and McGrath would have to get a better
start fo r a chance at victo ry. He did so in the
second moto , gating third , behin d Willo h and
Alessi. The latter moved into the lead in the
fourth corner, and McGrat h was in the runne rup position shortly after that. Ale ssi tr ied to
pull away, but the former champ reeled him in,
and the duo put o n a great show for the
remainde r of the race. McGrath set Alessi up
for passes on seve ral occasions but elected not
to make any rough passes. When he did go for
the pass , Aless i came back and aggressive ly
pushed him w ide . Th ey re ma ine d tig ht, but
Alessi came out on to p on ce again.
By winning all fo ur Pro q ua lifie rs , Mike
Ale ss i was the to p seed going into the main
eve nt . Th at meant that he w as placed at the
very back of the singie-fiIe, inverted start. Just
be at , and t he gap between them stayed the
same until the checkers.
Despite officially be ing retired , McGrath
show ed he's still o ne of the fastest riders in the
w orl d . Aless i de monstrat ed a leve l of spe ed
that 's simply frightening for a IS-year-old. Both
riders left with reason to smile, but the real
w inne rs were the tho usands of people who
witnessed it.
eN
SAUNAS SPORTS COMPUX
SAUNAS, CAUFORNIA
RESULTS: MAy 8 , 2004 (ROUND 1)
50 X : I. Romey Miramon tes (Pol); 2. Travis Burrough
(Pol); 3. GumM S>gIe< (KTM): 4. Rhett GonzaJe, (KTM); 5.
Tommy 5,...." (KTM). 65 x , I . Damon lwanoga (KTM): 2.
PHOTOS BY EDD IE GRAVELlNEIWWW.MOTO PRESS .NET
Jeremy McGrath showed he's still one of the fastest
rid e rs in the world at the Bounty Hunter MX opener.
Mike Alessi use d great starts to w in a ll four Pro heat
races at the Sa linas Sports Complex.
.
Muta nt Moto rsports/Tr acy Chevrolet/Mission Motorcycles Friday Night Series
Round 4 : Santa Clara County Fa irg ro und s
Karmann, Schmid Score
at San Jose
By RANDY HElM
SAN JOSE, CA APR. 30
,
o ug Schmid and Greg Karmann ca me to
race under the lights in San Jose , and eac h
of them scored a class win.
Schm id, on his Pe ninsula Honda ride , won
the 125cc Intermed iate class , swapping mo to
wins w ith Karman n. In the first moto, Karmann
set the pace and put his Yamaha across the line
firs t . Sc hmid fin ished a close second , a nd
Anthony Maniglia took third. Th e seco nd mo to
saw Schmi d out front , w ith Karmann in t ow.
Schmid held his lead until the checke rs flew and
too k th e second-mete w in . Kar ma nn was
secon d, and Maniglia was o nce again third o n his
YZ. Schmid too k t he ove ra ll by virtue of his
better sec ond-mo to score , and Karman n settled
D
Doug Schmid (818) won th e 125cc
Intermediate cla ss a nd th e Da sh Fo r
Ca sh at round four of the Mutant
Motorsport s Frida y Night Se ries in
Sa n Jose, Ca lifo rnia .
60
Brand on OIT (KTM): l . Paul D'Eredua (KTM);