Ron Lieback

AllAboutBikes.com Staff Writer 

Last week at Hangtown, Mike Alessi won his first career race in the premier 450 Class. That victory must have kick-started something in Alessi; the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider grabbed both motos at the Flagstar Bank Motocross National in Freestone Raceway Saturday for a 1-1 sweep overall.

The newest track on the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship schedule, Freestone Raceway in Wortham, Texas, is only in its third year of hosting national races, and is the series' only visit to the Southeastern portion of the country. And the action is always intense. 

After grabbing the holeshot in both motos, Alessi charged to the front, never looking back. He quickly gapped the field, winning by double-digit margins. His victory extends his point-lead to 31 over teammate Chad Reed, who finished overall third for the day. Prior to last week's win, Alessi had only collected 12 podium finishes in the premier division; now he has three moto wins.  

“I knew it was going to be hot and I prepared myself,” Alessi told reporters. “I think today was really awesome. We still need to take it one race at a time. After the race I was getting undressed and I was already watching tape from High Point for next week.” 

Finishing out the top three were Honda Red Bull Racing's Andrew Short of Smithville, Texas, in second, which was his first podium finish this year, and Reed of Australia in third, which makes for two consecutive weeks of an overall third position. 

Short's teammate and last week's podium finisher, Ivan Tedesco, finished fourth, followed by temporary-motocross racer Ricky Dietrich, who races for Monster Energy Kawasaki's off-road program in the WORCS and EnduroCross series. A top American ISDE rider last year, Dietrick is proving he can even ride with MX stars.  

In the 250 Class, it was also the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team with the overall win. Ryan Dungey won Moto 2, and finished second in the Moto 1. Dungey, of Minnesota, has claimed the second moto in each of the three races so far this year.  

“It is my third year and I'm still at the beginning of my career the way I look at it,” Dungey told reporters. “I feel like I belong here and thinking like I feel that I need to step up. There aren't any excuses and I can't expect anything less. I need to take every opportunity and grab a hold of it. They did an awesome job today with the whole track. They left the ruts and I really thought it would be one lined, but it was great.”

Christophe Pourcel of France won Moto 1 and took fourth in Moto 2, giving him second in the overall race. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider's second-place finish keeps the points battle close. GEICO Powersports Honda's Trey Canard, of Shawnee, Okla., rounded out the podium in third. 

Saturday's race was round three in the 12-race series, and round four continues next Saturday, June 13, at Mt. Morris, Pa. Live coverage of the Monster Energy National at High Point Raceway will be on NBC, Saturday, June 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET. 

1.Mike Alessi, Suzuki (moto finishes: 1-1) 

2.Andrew Short, Honda (2-3)  

3.Chad Reed, Suzuki (5-2)  

4.Ivan Tedesco, Honda (4-9)  

5.Ricky Dietrich, Kawasaki (7-6)  

6.Daniel Reardon, Honda (12-4)  

7.Michael Byrne, Suzuki (8-7)  

8.Cody Cooper, Yamaha (6-13)  

9.Weston Peick, Honda (9-11)  

10.Justin Brayton, KTM (8-10)  

1.Ryan Dungey, Suzuki (2-1)  

2.Christophe Pourcel, Kawasaki (1-4)  

3.Trey Canard, Honda (3-2)  

4.Blake Wharton, Honda (7-3)  

5.Brett Metcalfe, Honda (4-7)  

6.Tommy Searle, KTM (6-5)  

7.Tyla Rattray, Kawasaki (5-6)  

8.Broc Tickle, Yamaha (9-8)  

9.Darryn Durham, Yamaha (8-12)  

10.Kyle Cunningham, Kawasaki (13-9)