Aaron Plessinger claims his first career supercross win at the Indy Supercross; Malcolm Stewart finishes second and retains the series points lead.
Even though Aaron Plessinger hails from Ohio, the State of Indiana ought to have a special place in his heart.
The state in which the 20-year-old Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha rider earned his first career Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship victory also became the home for his first career Monster Energy AMA 250SX East win when Plessinger grabbed the lead on the opening lap and then pulled away from the field to score a convincing win at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, tonight; Plessinger’s margin of victory was just under 10.7 seconds.
In doing so, Plessinger became the fifth different winner in five rounds of the 2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series, and the win also moved him up to second place in the series standings, behind GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart, who moved one step closer to landing the first professional motocross championship of his career by finishing a solid second place in the Indy main event.
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Gannon Audette pulled the holeshot just ahead of Plessinger and Traders Racing Kawasaki’s Anthony Rodriguez, but Plessinger quickly passed both the Kawasaki men to take the lead and pull clear of the field.
Stewart ran fourth off the start but quickly moved past Rodriguez to do battle with Audette for second place while his closest pursuer in the series title race, Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin also began to move forward in the field. Stewart moved past Audette by doubling the small jump adjacent to the starting line on lap two, but by then Plessinger was already 1.9 seconds out front. As Rodriguez faded back into the pack, Martin moved up to third, ahead of Rockstar Energy Davalos, giving the top four riders in the series points the top four spots on the racetrack.
With a clear track in front of him, Plessinger wasted no time in putting distance between himself and the rest of the field by building a 3.7-second lead over Stewart through the first six laps. That lead was up to 4.4 seconds by lap seven.
Martin would ultimately see his hopes for the championship all but end when he crashed on lap nine, breaking his handlebar mounts and ending his night early. Stewart, meanwhile, was never able to mount a charge that would bring him close to the fluid-riding Plessinger, and when Stewart misjudged a rhythm section with four laps to go, he dropped to over 8 seconds behind Plessinger, who cruised to the win.
The two rivals, who let some bad blood spill a couple rounds ago after Plessinger had accused Stewart of rough riding, were more than congenial after this one. Both of them took the time to stop on the track and congratulate each other, and they even shared in a goofy victory dance in front of the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd.
Afterward, Plessinger admitted that he didn’t know how the win came so easily to him.
“I’ve had a rough couple weeks, and I just went back with Gareth Swanpoel and Cooper Webb and trained my but off, and it really helped,” Plessinger said. “Everybody at the team, I can’t thank ‘em enough. It was just a great race. I can’t believe I’m up here.”
If Stewart was disappointed with second place, he didn’t let it show on the podium, as he was secure in the knowledge that he has a 10-point lead over Plessinger in the series standings.
“Believe it or not, this race is one of the toughest rounds just because the track changes every lap,” Stewart said. “I had a few big mistakes, and, you know, I’ve got to give it to Aaron [Plessinger], though. He was the better man today. He rode good. I’m happy to keep my GEICO Honda on the box. The goal is, you can’t win ‘em all, but you can lose [the championship] in a race. I’m just happy to still get up here one the box and, on top of that, to keep the red [points leader’s] plate. So, overall, I’m happy.”
Audette’s third-place finish marked his first podium finish for his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team.
“It feels awesome,” Audette said. “I ended up getting the holeshot—I was more outside than I would like—and I came out with the holeshot and just tried to put in my laps. Martin [Davalos] ended up passing me, and I was starting to catch back up to him a little bit. I was right on him, and then I think he ended up, I think, coming together with a lapper maybe—I’m not sure. He ended up crashing, unfortunately, and, yeah, I just kind of rode to a podium [finish].”
Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Shane McElrath got off to a bad start in the main event but came through to finish fourth, while Davalos, who had been running third for much of the race, overcame a crash after colliding with Matt Biseglia on lap 13.
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana
Results: April 9, 2016 (Round 5 of 8)
250 Main
1. Aaron Plessinger-Yam
2. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
3. Gannon Audette-Kaw
4. Shane McElrath-KTM
5. Martin Davalos-Hus
6. RJ Hampshire-Hon
7. Anthony Rodriguez-Kaw
8. Tyler Bowers-Kaw
9. Luke Renzland-Yam
10. Cedric Soubeyras-Kaw
11. Paul Coates-Hon
12. Justin Starling-Kaw
13. Matt Bisceglia-Suz
14. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
15. Dakota Alix-KTM
16. Henry Miller-Yam
17. Levi Kilbarger-Yam
18. Jacob Williamson-Kaw
19. Benny Bloss-Yam
20. Alexander Frye-KTM
21. Jeremy Martin-Yam
22. Darryn Durham-Yam
2016 Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series Points Standings (after 5 of 8 rounds)
1. Malcolm Stewart-102/1 win
2. Aaron Plessinger-92/1 win
3. Martin Davalos-77/1 win
4. Jeremy Martin-74/1 win
5. Tyler Bowers-66
6. Justin Hill-63/1 win
7. Gannon Audette-61
8. RJ Hampshire-59
9. Shane McElrath-53
10. Matt Bisceglia-49
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