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/128340
Alessi To KTM, But Not With Alloy A s if his de but at the Millville, Minnesota, /"'\round of the AHA National Motocross Championship wasn't enough, young Mike Alessi had more things to dea l with the week following his professional debut. For starters, the 16-year-old inked a two-year contract with KTM, where he will join Nathan Ramsey, Ryan Mills, Jay Marmont and Josh Hansen . Then he was released from his Alloy Gear contract with a tersely written press release being circu- lated by the upstart gear company. "We're starting fresh," said KTM team manager Larry Brooks in a release iss ued by KTMregard ing the Alessi signing. "We have as the release stating that he'd signed with KTM, Alloy MX announced that it had dropped Alessi. "This should have been a very difficult Mike Alessi contemplates his pro debut at Millville. decision. but ultimately it was not, as it was forced upon us," said Neil Calvesbert in the release. '1\lIoy MX saw Mike Alessi as the future. We made a large comm itment to him and his brother Jeff. As a young company, we committed ourselves to these two riders (or the long term - no amateur rider has been supported or marketed as heavily as Mike a brand-new supercross and motocross crew that will be contesting the upcoming series . They are young. enthusiastic and them as part of the Red Bull KTM Race team . Our scheduled riders are Nathan Ramsey, Josh Hansen, Ryan Mills, Jay Marmont and Mike Alessi. Allthe riders w ill be on the KTM 250F in the 125cc class in Alessi with Alloy MX. But at the end of the day, we have simply had enough of the situation and working with Tony Alessi [Mike and Jeff's father]. The backlash of the events leading up to and during Millville have rocked us hard. People think Alloy MX made those ' Be lieve the Hype' Tvshirts. That is simply the supercross and outdoor series, except not true ; we had no invotvement in produc- for Alessi, who will contest the outdoor season only in 2005, and Marmont, who will ride an 5X 125. He will then challenge the supercross and outdoor series in 2006 . ing that T-shirt. Tony Alessi asked us to make a bull's-eye butt logo for Mike's pants for Millville, and we pointed ou t the problems We are anxious to beginthe season. We are but he insisted. We originallysigned a threeyear contract with both Mike and Jeff, which took us to the end of 2005; recently Tony has Millville for Steel City or Glen Helen that he would pull Mike from those races . Various wanted to make some changes to our origi- communications went back and forth, and nal agreement, which included helmets and boots. We have always tried to accommodate his requests and have gone over and today we decided to end the relationship . We just cannot work productively under the constant threats from Tony Alessi." determined, and we are so proud to have that may cause or the message it might send, all on track to becoming one of the strongest racing teams that KTM has seen. With the brand-new energy, and the 250F coming out, we are anticipating hugely successful seasons. It In a release that came on the same day The shirts that cau sed pa rt o f the prob lem . Foggy Boys Like New Bits Foggy Petronas Racing ride rs Troy Co rse r and Chris Walker have praised the latest developments to the Petronas FPI power unit, which the duo tested at the Circuit de Neve rs in Magny-Cours , France, last week. Dry and sunny conditions th roughout the day enabled the team to capitalize on feels much more consistent. but there is still a litt le room for improvement. which w e can w ork on at Assen. I've tested a whole range of tire constructions just to assess them with the different clutch settings, and resulting in nothing out of the ordinary, which is good . Given this is the less than a we ek after H ayden's accide nt. dent in Italy on Saturday, August 28, accord- sion as to w hether or not Hayden w ill take part in the Port uguese Grand Prix will be made after his condition has been assessed by his medical tea m and the Repsol Honda te am. Hayden tested for two days at Brno last wee k after crash ing out of the Czech Republic Grand Prix. He then travele d to Italy ing to a team press release. Hayde n crashed his Honda CRF450 while specification and new STM clutch . Both riders worked relatively troublefree through the comprehensive testing program, completing more than 50 laps each on the day, with consistent and com petitive lap times adding to the day's many we 've had a very productive test." on August 28 and then underwent surgery to have a plate inserted into the break. H e is cur rently under the care of MotoGP doctor Dr. Claudio Costa. The next round of the MotoGP World Champ ionship is slated for Septe mber 3-5, The Pe tronas engine-development team 's success revised engine specificaful tion. containing cam-train revisions that allow the e ngine to rev another 1000 rpm, produces more peak power and provides greater gearing opt ions. The newest stage of engine developme nt will be used at the next round of t he World Superbike Champions hip in Assen, Ho lland, on September 5. "We've had two good days and tested quite a few things, including the latest revisions to the engine and also clutch settings," Corser said. "The slipper clutch to mee t with his leather s co mp any. Alpinestars, according to H onda. been very beneficial to have time to get used to the new power characteristics of the re vised engine and get back up to speed and ready for Assen, which is a fast track when you've been riding every week, let alone when you've had a month 0IP. The latest engine spec feels very lively and revs really hard , which is good . I've also had the chance to concentrate on get- ting a good setting for the fuel mapping and ignition curve in readiness for Assen. This is the first time I've ridden here on the Pet ronas FP I, so to end up with lap times only three- tenths off Troy, I'm really chuffed, especia lly knowing how well he went here at the test last year." An Electric Honda According to a press release, Honda Mo tor Company stat ed it has built scooters power ed by fuel cells and gasoline -electric engines, exte nding the tec hnology for the first time to two-w hee led ve hicles. The autom aker developed a scooter w ith a fuel cell-power plant the size of a normal 125cc gasoline engine, as we ll as a so-called hybrid two-wheeler with a 50cc engine , Honda pres ident Takeo Fukui told reporters at the company's research center in Tochigi Prefect ure, north of Tokyo. 6 allow Mi ke to wear the same colors as According to a release from Ho nda. a deci- happy with my lap times , which have been consistently in the I:43s, and overall I feel positive outcomes, according to the team. but don't expect to work for it." Ben Masek, president of Alloy MX, added : "While we were left concerned after Millville, we tried to soldier on, but this week Tony told us that if we did not Re pso l Honda's Nicky Hayde n broke his right the initial adjustments and progress made the previous evening with the latest engine fruitful couple of days," Walker said. "It's chose not to respect the terms or obligations of a contract ; they want the money collarbone during a super moto training acci- tr aining in Pavia, near M ilan in north ern Italy, end on one ofthe slow corners, it's been a do. As we all know, as the stakes and money get higher, so do the responsibilities of the athletes. Unfortunately, some people Hayden Breaks Collarbone On Supermoto Bike first time w e've been here on PireUis, I'm "Other than a small trip into the gravel at lunch time today w he n I lost the front beyond what the contract requires us to SEPTEMBER 8, 2004 • C Y CLE N EWS 40th AnniVErsary "Ho nda isgrow ingbecauseit comes up with new ideas and technology and is able to apply those to their products,''' said Atsushi Osa. Honda spokesman Tetsuya Ikeda decl ined to say when the hybrid or the fuel-cell scooters w ould go on sale. T here w ere also no sale prices ment ioned. Honda's hybrid scooter, which does n't yet have a mode l name, will be the same size as its current Dio Z4 model. It emits 37 percent less carbon dioxide than a gasoline-powered Dlo and is 1.6 times more fuel-efficient, according to Honda