BLACK MARK IN MOTOCROSS HISTORY

Mike Alessi has had a bumpy ride in the AMA Pro ranks. The former minicycle champion has been at the center of controversies that have been bracketed by the “Believe the Hype” T-shirts up to the 2013 Laser-Gate incident at Washougal. But what really derailed Mike’s reputation and turned the fans against him was the 2005 kill-button incident at the Glen Helen National.

Mike went into the final race of the 2005 125 National Championship 35 points behind Pro Circuit’s Ivan Tedesco, but after Tedesco DNF’ed the first moto, the points spread between the two was reduced to 10 points. Then, when Alessi and Tedesco crashed into each other at the end of the infamous “Muddy Straight,” Mike stood on Tedesco’s bike so that Ivan couldn’t pick it up and made an obvious move to hit Tedesco’s kill button. In the end, Tedesco won the 2005 125 title, even though he went 21-11 at Glen Helen. As for Mike Alessi, he was disqualified for the day for “engaging in an activity detrimental to the sport.”

THE ALESSI/TEDESCO INCIDENT (SEE IT AT 3:40)