Page 38 - Issue-35

AARON PLESSINGER
250 SX / OKLAND
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> As the rain continued to fall throughout the morning practice sessions, Aaron Plessinger’s smile widened beneath his helmet. The Ohio native cut his teeth racing in the GNCC series -- a style of racing that requires its competitors to make their way through a multitude of off-road ob- stacles such as mud bogs, wooded trails, creek beds, and so forth. The constantly deteriorating track was playing directly into the hands of the Star Racing Yamaha rider who has yet to win a race this season. Plessinger showcased his buttery smooth technique throughout timed qualify- ing by dropping the third fastest time overall, earning himself a solid gate pick heading into the heat races. The twenty year old was able to pull a great start by his standards in the heat race, putting him in the final spot on the rostrum in the opening stages of the contest. He didn’t look as if he planned to settle for a cake walk into the main event, immediately charging forward with aggression. It only took Plessinger one lap to make his way past the Geico Honda of Jimmy Decotis, putting him in position to track down McElrath in the lead with plenty of time left in the race. The Ohioan remained patient and found a way into the lead at the midway point, never looking back as he continually built a gap over the course of the remaining laps. The gate pick that he earned himself would play a major role in how the night of racing would unfold; Pless- inger’s results have been massively hindered by his starts in the main events thus far in 2017
-- no matter how incredibly fast he has been at times, the championship contenders are too evenly matched to give up that much time in the early laps. He got the start that he has been hoping for in the main event, coming out of the first corner in contention for the top five through the first rhythm section. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side as he failed to avoid the downed Kawasaki of Austin Forkner, lodging his front tire underneath the green machine and halting his progress in the second corner. He was able to push his bike free after a couple of other riders cleared the way, but the damage had already been done -- Plessinger remounted his machine in practically twentieth position. The Star Racing Yamaha rider displayed unbelievable opening lap intensity as he carved his way through the pack, eventually working his way up to thirteenth position as he crossed the line for the first time. Over the course of the next five laps, he had worked his way all the way to seventh position as he firmly set Kyle Chisholm in his sights and it only took Plessinger one lap to make the move. He spent the next couple laps closing the gap to the Suzuki of Phil Nicoletti in fifth place; at the pace that he was running, he was in with a shout of tracking down a top five finish with time to spare, but a costly mistake after he passed Nicoletti robbed him of that opportunity. Ironically, Plessinger encountered a chunk of wood in one of the deep ruts that littered the track -- something that would normally never phase a rider with an illustrious GNCC background, except for in the middle of a SX track. The debris caught him off guard and he tucked the front end, relegating him back to sixth position where he would finish the race in a frustrating performance of what could have been.
38 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 5, 2017