Page 28 - Issue_64

AARON PLESSINGER
250 SX / 1ST
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / ROEWER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Aaron Plessinger has been on fire this 2018 season. After putting in the time throughout the off season he came back to Monster Energy AMA Supercross not messing around, making it onto the podium four out of the five rounds so far. Heading into round five of the season the Yamalube/ Star Racing Yamaha rider was only holding onto the red plate with a one point lead ahead of Shane Mcelrath. Even with the pressure of maintain the points lead and feeling a little under the weather Plessinger was able to qualify as the second fastest rider of the day. Feeling good on the quickly changing Oakland track conditions, the Yamaha rider got a good jump out of the gate putting him right around the front through the first turn. Quickly passing the Cana- dian rider Jess Pettis for the lead. Never looking back, he led all eight laps of the short heat race, taking the win and moving onto the main event with an extra layer of confidence. Get- ting a nice little break to recover Not getting the best start out of the gate, he was sitting right around mid-pack with some tough work ahead of him. Sitting back around seventh place he was quickly making passes to get to those podium positions. Just a few laps in he was in fifth place behind Joey Savatgy, setting one of the fastest laps on the track. As mayhem ensued all around him he kept his pace up, staying incredibly consistent on the challenging rutted condi- tions. Not letting the track take him as a victim he worked his way forward position by position eventually working his way into third after a tough battle with Savatgy. Not long after making that pass he reeled in Alex Martin and made the pass for second place. Only a couple seconds behind Christian Craig and stills setting the quickest lap time, Plessinger was making all the right moves to get himself to the top step of that podium. With not long left in the race Craig makes a costly mistake that Plessinger was able to capitalize on putting himself into first place. With just a few laps left of the race he just had to hold on until the finish. After claiming his third win of the season, Plessinger was too exhausted to have a victory dance immediately laying down after pulling off the track. Grabbing another handful of plates Aaron Plessinger heads into round six of the SX season with an even tighter hold on the red plate.
28 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 4, 2018