Page 10 - GRIT_86

AARON PLESSINGER
250 MX / 2ND
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> A lot has happened in Aaron Plessinger’s world since we last saw him at Washougal. After surprisingly winning the overall there with 4-3 moto scores, he entered the off week extremely anxious, but it had noth- ing to do with motocross. He was awaiting the birth of his baby boy. And like I had said after Washougal,
it might just be Plessinger’s year because of all weeks for his child to be born, it was on an off week in the racing schedule. So, he was able to be there with his ancée and get accustomed to life with a newborn baby without having to deal with a race that weekend. Heading into Unadilla, Plessinger holds a huge points lead but he admitted early on that he was feeling a bit nervous and anxious for the rst time all year, and that may be attributed to it being his rst race as a father. Plessinger did not have his best day of qualifying in the morning practice sessions. He struggled mightily in the rst session and was only the twelfth fastest rider. He admitted to not liking the track and not nding a rhythm but when the rain started coming down for session two, his off-road experience took over and he nished that practice with one of the top times. He was clearly ready to duke it out in the mud. Plessinger managed to nesse a pretty clean start to begin the rst moto of the day. He clocked in in fth place after lap one. He passed his teammate, Justin Cooper, on lap two to take over fourth and then settled in behind Rockstar Husqvarna’s Mitchell Harrison. He lurked behind the young rider for a few laps before managing to pass him and another Rockstar Husqvarna rider, Michael Mosiman, to hop up to second on lap ve. There he found himself behind his own teammate, Dylan Ferrandis. He wasn’t too far behind him and at times looked like he wanted to make a run at him, but cham- pionship aspirations took over. He had virtually nothing big to gain and nearly everything to lose so made sure he rode smooth and solid en route to nish second in the moto. A second is as good as a rst in the rst motos in motocross so he was sitting comfortably heading into moto two. Plessinger got off to a similar start in the second moto compared to his rst one. He rounded lap one in sixth this time but quickly moved into fth after a crash from Jordon Smith. He locked in behind Joey Savatgy and pushed them both forward to another battling duo of Ferrandis and Harrison. It quickly turned into a four-rider battle for second. Plessinger would be the last man in the train for a few laps before sneaking past Savatgy on lap ve, and sensing an opportunity, passed early leader, Cameron McAdoo, to take over third place on lap six. This put him right on the rear wheel of Ferrandis who was also on the rear wheel of Harrison who was the new leader. The rear riders played cat and mouse for a handful of laps before things truly got shook up. Ferrandis made a pass for the lead but couldn’t seal the deal in the following corner allowing both Plessinger and Harrison to pass him. Harrison maintained the lead but would lose it to Plessinger just a half a lap later after he bumped into a lapper. Just like that, Plessinger was in the lead. He wasn’t safe yet though because Ferrandis was still right there. Plessinger did not know he was that close and went wide allowing Ferrandis to pass him back on the following lap. Plessinger remained close during the last few laps but would ultimately nish second for the second time on the day. His 2-2 scores earned him second overall and a massive seventy-nine-point points lead. Barring catastrophe, he should easily wrap up the title a round early next weekend at Budds Creek.
10 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 12, 2018