Alessi exits with a knee injury
By TMX Archives on 10th Jun 09
SO you thought the GP scene was suffering with injuries? How about America, where the winners of the first three rounds of the AMA National (outdoor) Series are now out with knee injuries!
With James Stewart sitting out the Nationals, Ryan Villopoto was expected to walk it in the 450cc class, and indeed he devastated the opposition in the Glen Helen opener. However, one week later the Kawasaki leader was out for the season with a knee injury.
Up steps Mike Alessi with his first career victories at Hangtown and Wortham, but the Suzuki teamster is now also out of action after suffering a broken kneecap on Monday (June 8) while practising In Pennsylvania for the upcoming round at Mount Morris. Apparently he slid into a fence-post and clattered his knee.
According to the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team, the teenager underwent successful left knee surgery on Tuesday morning (June 10).
"There was no other damage to the knee beyond the broken kneecap," explained team manager, Roger DeCoster. "The outlook is better than expected, as we initially thought he would be out for the year. It appears now that there's a good chance he will be able to get back out there racing before the end of this season."
The absence of America's top three, plus pre-series injury absentee Tim Ferry, means that Chad Reed is now the effective leader of the AMA series going into round four of 12. The Australian holds a 17-point advantage over Josh Grant, with Andrew Short a point further back.