AARON PLESSINGER | GRIT-210 | 450SX

AARON PLESSINGER | GRIT-210 | SX 450

Doing all in his power to be prepared for the trio of "main event" in Texas, the business-like demeanor of would come to fruition as soon as he strolled onto the start straightaway for practice. There was little time to waste, with an automatic transferring bid on the line; especially with Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac making their presence known while contending atop the leaderboard. His self-belief was paramount, and one that exhibited prolific whoop speed on the far right-side. He would clip each mogul with an unwavering grip on the handlebars, which ultimately led to a tenth-place position being garnered as all was said and done. For the first moto, tension(s) were high throughout the top eight on the leaderboard, and as he landed from the tunnel-jump (in the earliest of stages) he would be gunning for the GasGas rider just ahead of him. If he could just follow and mimic the standout 450cc competitor, there was a chance that they could rally into the top-three by the time all was said and done for this initial portion of action. Scrubbing the finish-line with authority just after the seven-minute mark, his frame would be nearly paralleled to the ground beneath him prior to returning to the ground...which made the case for his race-craft and how much he truly wanted to get around that of Barcia, who was just seconds in front of him. Though unfortunately unable to make a definitive pass stick, his capturing of sixth (after nearly crashing with Chase Sexton and avoiding a subsequent crash) would be a catalyst of success in the events to follow. For moto number two, his output amongst the first five minutes was impeccable; seat-hopping the "SX" triple with his left-foot dangling in the air, showing that he possessed both comfort and fearlessness on the sports biggest stage. Scrubbing his way through the obstacles that were just thereafter, his compression of the suspension (though subtle) was enough to create a bit of breathing room between he and Ken Roczen. His reiteration of "charging" until the checkered flag would be a defining factor in the final moments of this moto, as he sought the fifth-place position and decisively obtained it as the race was finalized. For the last round of competition, there wasn't much that he anyone could do, in regard to finding smooth lines on this Arlington circuit. His sense of cutting across lines (in particular after the whoops), would be something that Justin Barcia behind him would have to take note of. Though fatigue attempted to set in, he wasn't going to let a lapse of focus deter him from a capturing of fifth in the corners ahead. It was actually quite the contrary, as he stayed the course and obtained the desired position (ahead of Eli Tomac, who he passed late, following Tomac's crash) to acquire an applaud-worthy sixth overall.

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