Page 42 - GRIT24

We have been waiting for Aaron Plessinger to have his breakout performance this season and he was hoping he would get one at Southwick. Most of the riders in the 250 class have minimal experience at The Wick so it leveled the playing field out a bit. Plessinger qualified with the twelfth fastest time and looked
ready to do battle. Plessinger began moto one by finally nailing a great start. The Star Racing Yamaha rider started in third place and locked in behind his teammate Jeremy Martin. He would then actually make the move on the two-time champion and take over second place. He set his sights on the leader Shane McElrath and applied the pressure. He could not seem to find a way around the KTM rider resulting in Martin passing him back. That seemed to take the wind out of his sails and he didn’t have that same push like he had early in the moto. He would get passed by Webb and Tonus but he finally got around McElrath later in the moto to finish fourth. Plessinger could not replicate his good start in the second moto as he came around lap one in eleventh. He slowly picked some riders off and found himself in eighth place at the halfway point. In the second half of the race he continued to make moves after several riders would go down and in the end he inherited fifth place. The 4-5 moto scores mark one of his most consistent rides of the season and he seems to have set the tone for the second half of his season.
words/SETHHARNISHFEGER
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42 GRITMOTO • JULY.11.16