2005 Glen Helen 125cc Moto 2 (Mike Alessi's Cheater Move on Ivan Tedesco)

This is the 2nd and final 125cc moto from the 2005 Glen Helen Motocross National in San Bernardino, CA.

In 2005, Red Bull KTM rookie Mike Alessi #800 came into the Glen Helen finale sitting 2nd overall in the 125cc Motocross Points Standings. Leading the series was Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ivan Tedesco #30 (though he was running #102 at this race in preparation for the 2005 Motocross of Nations).

Coming into the race, Ivan Tedesco had won 2 overalls (Lakewood and Washougal) and 3 motos, while Mike Alessi won 2 overalls (High Point and Binghamton) and 4 motos for the season, but Tedesco held a 35-point lead over Alessi and needed just a finish of 5th or better in the first moto to secure the title. Unfortunately, Tedesco crashed with Team Suzuki's Broc Hepler before another rider crashed into Tedesco and knocked his chain off. With "Hot Sauce" down in the field, that left a BIG chance for Mike Alessi to pick up a significant chunk of points on Tedesco, but Mike had to go through Ivan's Pro Circuit teammate #8 Grant Langston to do it. As a matter of fact, the two battled in moto #1 before Alessi sent Langston off the track on the final lap; Langston tried to re-enter the track safely, but gained a position on Alessi and eventually won the moto (despite kicks from Alessi up Mount Saint Helens). The AMA revised Langston's actions and penalized him 5 seconds (1 position), which gave the moto win to Alessi; as for Tedesco, he fought back to 22nd, but finished out of the points for the first time in the 2005 125cc MX season. That dropped his points lead from 35 to 10.

With the final moto coming up, all Alessi had to do was win again and hope that Tedesco's luck would continue to run out. But it didn't work out in the least, due to a controversial move after they tangled. Eventually, Tedesco's 2nd Pro Circuit teammate Matt Walker #122 saw what Alessi was doing. Walker stopped his race, turned around, dropped his bike, and shooed Alessi away. Tedesco would keep his bike running and fight back to an 11th place finish, giving him his first and only Motocross title of his career; as for Alessi, another crash towards the end of the moto and getting landed on by another rider knocked him out of the moto, and the points. Alessi was credited with a 22nd place finish for no points... thus causing his chance at a title in his first pro season to go up in flames, but it didn't end for Alessi there...

Due to Mike Alessi's cheating move, he was later stripped of all of his points for the day, and lost all trust in the Motocross community for quite a while. To this day, Alessi has yet to win a Motocross title and a Supercross race. The 2005 Rookie of the Year award went to 250cc privateer #942 Juss Laansoo on his Motosport Outlet Honda CRF450R.

As for Pro Circuit Kawasaki, it was a bitter sweet day. Grant Langston won the last race of the season (his 4th of the season) on the brand new 2006 KX250F with his 2-1, while Ivan Tedesco walked away with his one and only 125cc Motocross Championship. He was planning to move up to the premiere class for 2006 and beyond. Unfortunately, Ivan Tedesco's Supercross career wouldn't pan out. He would podium 4 times in Supercross and win the 2009 Thunder Valley National for Team Honda.

Enjoy.