The battle that has raged on all summer between Colton Facciotti and Mike Alessi has been epic. Honda vs. Suzuki, Canada vs. USA or simply elite rider vs. elite rider. Whatever way you want to look at it, the addition of Mike Alessi and his SmartTop MotoConcepts Team has been a huge addition to not only the series but has benefited Canadian motocross in general. Over the years in the USA Mike Alessi has been one of the riders sometimes distracted by controversy. Whether it’s been warranted or not, since his arrival in Canada a few short months ago we’ve seen nothing but business from Team Alessi. Their attention to detail off the track has been amazing and Mike’s riding on the track has spoken for itself. With two rounds to go in the 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals the MX1 Championship is still up for grabs. Even though Mike is 21 points out of the lead, one of the valuable lessons he’s learned over the years is to never give up. We sat down with Mr. Holeshot to get his thoughts on how this summer has been going.
MXP: Hey Mike, here we are at Round 8 of this 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals. What are your thoughts so far on the series and your time in Canada?
MA: Yes, it’s hard to believe that we’re almost done the series. Time has definitely flown by! Everything has been great so far. We’ve really enjoyed our time in Canada, and other than a little bit of bad luck, the series has been great.
You’re seeing all of these tracks for the first time. What are your thoughts so far on the Canadian tracks?
I think they’re cool, I mean the eastern tracks have been completely different with the sand and terrain but overall they’ve been pretty good. It’s too bad it rained so much in Regina because I think that track would’ve been good also. Prior to this year I’ve been racing the same tracks for a number of years so it’s been very refreshing to be able to race on some new tracks.
We’ve seen you dominate motos on a few occasions but we’ve also seen you suffer some bad luck. How frustrating has it been to give away so many points with circumstances virtually out of your control?
It’s been really tough! Like you said, I’ve had some really good motos one weekend and then the next I run out of fuel or my grip comes loose. However, you just keep going and keep looking forward to the next race.
You’ve been around long enough to know that it’s never over until it’s over.
Exactly, even with all of those issues I’m still in the points race. I know it doesn’t matter but if you add up the points that I’ve missed out on, I’m leading the MX1 class so I do feel good about that. But that thinking doesn’t win you championships so I have a few motos left to try to come back and win this thing.
What happened with that grip anyway? Did it just come loose?
Yes, midway through that moto it just started turning and then it got worse and worse. It got so loose that I just twisted it off and rode the rest of the race with no grip. I’ve never heard of that happening, especially to someone who’s leading a national race.
Going back to the track conditions up here, have you always enjoyed riding in the sand? I know at Gopher Dunes you had the fuel issue, but up until that point and also in moto two, you were very fast. In fact, I think your ride at Gopher Dunes was one of the best we’ve seen up here by anyone.
Well, thank you very much. I really do appreciate those words. I’ve always enjoyed the sand and I think I’ve always done well in it. In 2005, I won the first moto at Southwick so I do know how to ride it and set a bike up to work in the sand. Other than that, it just comes down to fitness and I feel like I’m one of the fittest riders on the track. That day at Gopher Dunes, everything just felt right, the track was good and my bike was good. Unfortunately I ran out of fuel with two laps to go so I couldn’t get all the points I needed.
As I said before, you’ve been around a while now. Are there any conditions that you still feel you need to work on?
Definitely the mud. I’m still not that confident in the wet. I’ve been working on it though so I’m getting better, but it’s tough to practice that stuff. This is why I was pretty happy with how I finished in Regina. I was out of my element but still managed to score some valuable points.
I remember you crashing in Regina and you had to pick your bike up on the side of that jump. That looked tough. How heavy was your bike?
Oh man, it must’ve weighed 500 lbs, and it was on such a bad angle. It was definitely a struggle to pick it up, and then trying to start it was also tough. All I could think of was that I needed the points.
I think one of the most impressive parts of your riding is your ability to sprint at the beginning of each moto. Your first 10-15 minutes have been truly impressive to watch all summer. Is that something you work on constantly or have you just developed it over the years from racing in the States?
Both I think. It’s definitely something we work on all the time as it’s very important. However, I think most of it comes from racing in the States because down there as soon as the gate drops it’s hammer down for as long as you can. You either sprint with the leaders or you get left behind!
Also, since you’re batting about .600 with holeshots this season, on the hot lap, do you always look for the fast lines assuming you’re going to be up front on the first lap?
Sometimes, it really depends on the track and conditions. If there are a lot of different lines then I’ll look at a few different ones and decide the ones I don’t want to take. From there I just look for a couple of good passing spots in case I need them and then I just focus on the start.
Have you always practiced starts a lot during the week?
All the time. I think the biggest mistake a lot of riders make is that they don’t practice starts enough. I still take time out of my weekly practice and work on starts.
Let’s talk about the only moto this summer that you didn’t get a good start. At the start of moto two in Calgary you somehow got caught in the gate and you found yourself starting the race in last. Those next few laps were some of the best and most daring that we’ve ever seen in Canada. What was going through your mind at that point?
Well, Colton and I have been up front in every moto so I assumed that he had gotten a great start and was probably pulling away. I knew I had to take some chances so I just went as hard as I could until I could see Colton out front. From there I just paced myself until I passed him. I made some pretty crazy passes in those first few laps but it all worked out. To be honest, although I’ve had some great races in my career, I consider that race to be my best ever. To go from almost last to first against these fast riders, I’ll never forget that race.
It was very impressive to watch, especially on the WASP Cam video after; you definitely took some chances. I think also it’s a good lesson for younger riders in that if you want to pass a rider or many riders, you can’t follow. You used every inch of the Calgary track.
It was fun!! But I’m glad I don’t have to do that all the time (laughs).
Whether you win or lose this MX1 Championship, will you consider this summer in Canada a success?
This season has been great for me and I’m glad we made the decision to come up here. The new tracks we’ve seen, the new faces and the new scenery, everything has been great. You guys have a great country up here, for sure.
Well Mike, you’ve certainly done a great job in bringing some extra attention to this series and you’ve helped make the racing this summer some of the best ever. Good luck in the next few weeks and beyond.
Thank you very much, it’s been good chatting with you.