AARON PLESSINGER - 224 450MX

AARON PLESSINGER | GRIT-224 | 450MX

Showing instances of spectacular speed thus far in the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, Ohio's Aaron Plessinger would be excited to travel east and compete on soil that he was extremely familiar with. Plessinger had executed his moto(s) thus far in the calendar year with fearlessness and was destined to do the same after tackling a muddy racetrack for practice in the morning hours. Generating the ninth overall time prior to heading into the first moto, Plessiner would begin the initial portions of this segment in the seventh-place residency. He was crafty, and would sweep from outside to inside while standing atop the foot-pegs; letting his suspension and accompanying parts of the chassis work to their highest extent, while he remained efficient when clenching the handlebars. His lines in the switchbacks before the finish line were superb, and helped him embody rolling speed that would lug his 450cc engine around with both smoothness and intensity. He would follow the rear wheel of Adam Cianciarulo for quite sometime, until becoming involved in a battle that had the crowd cheering with applause between he and Dylan Ferrandis. Both competitors were firing at the highest of rates, riding on the edge of disaster as they (then) saw a mistake being made on behalf of Ken Roczen in the final laps of the moto. And though Plessinger was unable to move around the Suzuki rider (for seventh), Plessinger's ride in eighth was still formidable and a platform to work form as round two arose thereafter. His initiation into the following moto was excellent, where Aaron competed for the holeshot alongside Suzuki's Ken Roczen. He was passed by Adam Cianciarulo before the four minute mark though, and not long thereafter would he slide out in the initial left-hander of the wooded area (not far from the finish line). This would allow seemingly all of the other factory riders around him, but as he rebounded in seventh, he was determined to salvage his overall score with as much tenacity as possible. He would pass Cooper Webb around the halfway point, and maintain that designation until the checkered flag was thrown as well. Though he wanted to surpass Adam Cianciarulo, the ride to clench fifth place for this particular moto was notable; and when combined with his first moto score of eighth, his eighth overall for the day would be extraordinary given how challenging the track was.

More from GRIT