AARON PLESSINGER

Born and raised in the nearby state of Ohio, KTM’s Aaron Plessinger was ecstatic to be competing at the Ironman venue on Saturday. He was greeted by thousands of fans, and cheered throughout practice, before embarking on a first-moto run that presented his skills at the front of the field. He immediately contended for the first-place designation alongside Hunter Lawrence and Phil Nicoletti, moving into second to overtake the New York rider. Aaron then surged forward to the rear wheel of Hunter Lawrence after two and half minutes of competition, leaping through the offset rollers before the wooded area with an exceptional combination of hopping maneuvers — bouncing his way into the forthcoming left-handed bend to claim the lead ahead of the Honda rider. Now first, he would maintain the lead until just after the ten-minute mark had transpired, when Chase Sexton passed him across the large, infield tabletop. Plessinger had no choice but to oblige, obtaining the runner-up position while proceeding to follow the lines of his teammate. From that pivotal pass (on the fifth circuit), Aaron’s attrition and speed through the roughest lines on the Ironman circuit would be recognized by fans from around the world. He was flowing with a polished sense of race-craft, which was sustained through the sixteenth circuit...where he obtained an eventual, applaud-worthy feat of second before exiting the raceway. For the second round, a strong start for the Ohio native would propel him to an early race lead as a multitude of contenders fought for position, but when scrubbing his way underneath the bridge that preceded the finish line area, Plessinger had been definitively overtaken by teammate, Chase Sexton. He wasn’t going to quit, however, which resulted in a nearly secured first-place position as the halfway point appeared — though Sexton was quick to defend (as he had stalled the motorcycle) and countered Plessinger’s stretch for the lead, with speed of his own. He remained in the runner-up standing, would be encouraged to continue fighting from all of his surrounding team members. Through the finish-line area, Aaron managed to sprint from rut to rut with optimal RPM — letting the chassis flow in the right gear, while steadily managing the gap between he and the third-place rider, Eli Tomac. This was a portion, of the second-moto 450MX narrative that was carried through the checkered flag...where Aaron obtained the silver medal for both, the moto and overall box score — before congratulating his teammate Chase Sexton, on his championship for the outdoor season!