AARON PLESSINGER | GRIT-216 | 450SX

AARON PLESSINGER | GRIT-216 | SX 450

Hoping to rejuvenate his swagger that had been displayed at various rounds this season, Red Bull KTM's Aaron Plessinger would look to make an immediate impact while competing at the legendary Atlanta Motor Speedway venue. For practice, the field would decipher their way through immediate grooves that were made due to the rainfall on Friday, yet the Ohio native would still manage to blitz through the roller section with his lanky frame while attacking a lap time near the 1:30 mark. This would ultimately place him in the ninth position prior to heading into his heat race, where he sped through lap number one with an urgency to obtain clear vision. That would be earned, as he scrubbed through the multitude of doubles in the finish-line area; just yards away from the fans that were scattered across the concrete and cheering with applause! Plessinger had a knack for carrying his speed when landing upon the tunnel jump that followed, the rear wheel continuously spinning as he shaved a few feet of airtime (in comparison to his competitors) prior to downsizing and bombarding the accompanying right-hander with an outpouring of throttle. The game(s) of inches, if you will, would be multiplied across the course as they entered into the final two circuits of this divisional round...where his once hard-fought feud for a transfer position, would unfortunately be an effort that was designated for LCQ registration (via a final residency of tenth). Once here, the factory rider was a standout; and would do what was necessary through the short sprint to be labeled as a main event entrant, via first-place. For the first lap of the points paying segment that followed, now that the problematic LCQ was completed, moist clay would be thrown his way from a variety of angles; sticking to the front number plate of his KTM 450 and marring the trademarked "seven" logo that embodied the former 250cc champion's persona. The longest set of "SX" whoops on the track would be abysmal, with the moguls becoming extremely cupped out as riders were forced to descend into a sharp left-handed turn that followed (with no outer bank). But the outside to inside maneuvering of Plessinger would keep his front fender in a rather strong alignment forward, all the while the Kawasaki of Adam Cianciarulo would attempt to infiltrate his immediate radius via the furthest rut(s) to the left. But "AP" was having none of it, after making passes on both, the native Floridian and his Kawasaki teammate (i.e. Jason Anderson); with the twenty-one beginning to fade rather substantially. Now into sixth, it would be a steady climb into the proximity of Eli Tomac, where he nearly contested the red-plate holder for fifth! However he wasn't able to make the pass, prior to the checkered flag being thrown. Eventually, as racer's crossed the line for the completion of the finalé, it was Plessinger cemented in sixth; which was outstanding, given his path to the main event via LCQ transferring!

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