Aaron Plessinger was back in form at round six of the 2022 AMA Pro Motocross Championship with a season-best third overall in Southwick, Massachusetts.
Plessinger, a rider known for his versatile riding abilities in all types of terrain, put all the pieces together in some of the most grueling conditions of the season.
The Ohio native had a bit of a slow start to the day, qualifying 19th in the premier 450 class, but he turned things around at the drop of a gate and he proved to only get stronger as the day went on to log a seventh and third place in the two 30 minute motos.
In Moto 1, the former 250 champion got off to an eighth-place start and he battled there for the first five laps. Climbing up to sixth midway through, he fought hard to break into the top five late in the race but a mishap with his tear-offs cost him a position with a few laps to go, ultimately finishing seventh.
With a powerful start in Moto 2, Plessinger immediately worked up to second and he chased after the leader for the first half of racing. Dicing back-and-forth in a heated battle between second and third, Plessinger eventually settled into third late in the race and he finished strong with his first moto-podium of the season in third.
“It was an interesting one today!” Plessinger mused. “I felt good in qualifying but the numbers didn’t show with P19. In the first moto, I was feeling good and started flowing and caught up to almost fifth and then lost my tear-offs in the last few laps, so I ended up seventh. The second moto, I got off to a sick start and me, Eli and Kenny were battling there for a bit. I got by Kenny and tried to pace Eli for a bit but Chase was on rails and I started making a few mistakes there at the end. Overall, it was a really good day and I’m heading into Spring Creek with high confidence.”
Plessinger now holds down the eighth spot in the standings heading to round seven, the Spring Creek National in Millville, Minnesota
