Seeking to obtain as many points as possible for round two of the 450cc championship, the desire of Ohio’s Aaron Plessinger to succeed, couldn’t be denied as he rolled onto the raceway for practice on Saturday morning. Knowing that a top-five overall finish was realistic and obtainable, he wasted no time in demonstrating a phenomenal presence amongst the Hangtown Raceway amid his fellow combatants of the division. Remaining steadfast and engaged on the task at hand, his time(s) would be a means of a strong gate choice as he rolled to the starting line for the opening moto later that afternoon. As the entirety of the field then stormed from the line in the seconds thereafter, there was little to be mistaken in regard to how bad Plessinger wanted to move forward amongst the cluster of competitor(s) he was around (including Dylan Ferrandis and Honda’s Jett Lawrence). The top five of the field (or so) were in a class of their own, and as the former 250cc champion (i.e. Plessinger) sprinted amid the choppy straightaway near the mechanic’s area, you could sense the urgency that was being portrayed from his riding style when blasting into the forthcoming corner. Sweeping into the left-handed first turn area thereafter, he would take a slight gaze out of his peripheral view to see none other than that of teammate Cooper Webb attempting to track him down...but the KTM rider (who trailed) was having a difficult time making time up on Aaron as he closed to the rear wheel of Ferrandis; in the section that was most off-cambered amongst the Northern California layout. In the tight, funneling switchback that had many riders leaning to heavily to the outside of the motorcycle, he was able to remain on a straightened trajectory that seemed to frustrate that of the French rider, who Plessinger would close in on in the final moments of the moto! Numerous pass attempts while using a myriad of lines would be portrayed on behalf of the Ohio native, and when it nearly seemed as if Plessinger could make the move, a variable of some sort would thwart the abilities of the KTM rider in regard to making his way around. Eventually solidified in third (all though by the smallest of margins), the second moto was then just around the corner. For round number two, Plessinger was on a charge once again while residing just behind Cooper Webb. For numerous laps to being the second showcase of the day, it would be “AP” who was training the rear wheel of the North Carolina native in a close manner. However he couldn’t seem to wait much longer after gaining time on the “SX” standout near the halfway point, and would make a spectacular move on Webb with eleven minutes left on the clock. The pass was made with a crafty upshift and furthered velocity when hitting the small tabletop before the uphill rollers, pushing to the inside of Cooper and solidifying his placement in the moguls thereafter. All seemed to be well in the circuits that followed, until roughly three minutes were left on the clock and “AP” would crash in the sweeping left-handed corner after the finish-line! He would lose a significant amount of time in trying to get the bike restarted, which diverted him to sixth before the checkered flag was thrown. There would be no extra time to gain ground on the leaders of the moto, therefore the aforementioned six was finalized in the overall standings — which still resulted in a notable fourth place overall being grasped, prior to moving into round three of the championship.