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AARON PLESSINGER
250 MX / 3RD
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Coming into this round at Budd’s Creek, Aaron Plessinger and surrounding crew knew what was at stake. Contrary to the 450 championship standings, the Ohio native had a bit of a hefty points gap, leaving a bit of room for relaxation. However, as we all know, when vying for a pro- fessional title under the spotlight of national attention, there always comes a tad bit of force from an outsider’s perspective. As always though, Aaron Plessinger remained calm and composed upon entering through the gates, thinking that this was just another walk in the park. He was extremely poised throughout practice, wheeling and owing like no other, letting the eld know that this truly was his title to lose. He came to the line for moto number none over owing with con dence, as his presence baf ed the staggering competition. He stormed into the rst turn, taking the green ag in the number one ride, and looking to establish his championship reign early. The gap would start to lengthen, as he truly was carving into these ruts with a ow like no other. Leaping over the “Big Gulp” with a charisma of calmness, the aroma of RJ Hampshire in second was quickly washed away. You could tell that he was ring on all cylinders, doing just enough to keep the competition at bay. The nal few laps would begin to set in, and an ecstatic feeling would overtake him. The championship was well within his grasp, and his visualiza-
tion was becoming an actuality. He came across the line screaming, bumping his chest to the feeling of a championship rhythm. He’d claimed the title a bit early, but wanted to duplicate his performance for moto two. The work had been done, but his starting effort for the second round was similar; you could tell though, that he was in a bit of dismay from all of the positive emotion that had overcome him. Overtaken by RJ Hampshire on lap ve, he began to fall into his own, comfortable zone; albeit a little too comfortable, with a small mistake placing him on the ground for a brief moment. His mind was truly in other places, but could you blame him? The team just wanted him to nish in one piece, as he hovered near the backside of the top ten. The work had been done, and once he crossed the checkered ag, it was truly time for the festivities’ to begin. An eleventh place would put him third overall, but more importantly, the championship sewn up in his honor.
14 GRITMOTO • AUGUST 19, 2018