KTM Factory Commits International Team To Glen Helen

April 8, 2010 – Glen Helen Raceway, CA – KTM factory racer Mike Alessi has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the fastest starters in motocross and he continues to live up to this billing by getting the holeshot as a top U.S. star signing up for the U.S. Grand Prix (USGP) at the historic Glen Helen Raceway. On May 29-30th Alessi looks to defend American honor against the best motocross racers in the world as round six of the MX1/MX2 World Championships visits Southern California.

“I’m really looking forward to the USGP,” says the holeshot king, originally from the High Desert community of Hesperia. “Glen Helen is basically my home track and it will be a blast to go against my European teammates on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team.” However Alessi is quick to add, “don’t think for a second that I will take it easy on Tony Cairoli!”

Cairoli, the defending MX1 World Champion, is part of the powerhouse Red Bull KTM Factory effort that is all-in for the USGP. KTM is committing two world champs and two vice-champions to their six rider factory effort that will be coming to America. Italian Cairoli, German Max Nagl and Rui Goncalves from Portugal will compete in the premiere MX1 (open class), while Marvin Musquin from France, Scotland’s Shaun Simpson and Jeffrey Herlings from Holland will race the MX2 (250F) class.

They will be joined at Glen Helen Raceway by two more KTM factory racers in the form of Alessi and Britain’s Tommy Searle (who are both competing in AMA competition this season). “This is a great opportunity for us to show the quality of our factory team and our racing bikes in the USA, which is a very important and growing market for us,” notes KTM Sportmotorcycles CEO Stefan Pierer.

The fact that KTM’s U.S. headquarters is in nearby Temecula and KTM is looking to kick-off their all-new 350 SX-F certainly makes sense for KTM to be the first to step up in support of the USGP concept. Pierer says KTM is definitely stacking the deck in their favor: “We go to the U.S. with our World Champions and our World Championship bikes, including the new KTM 350 SX-F that MX1 World Champion Tony Cairoli has chosen to defend his title on!”