MXA INTERVIEW: STAR YAMAHA’S AARON PLESSINGER

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Aaron Plessinger.

By Jim Kimball

Although he has been knocking at the door since the 2017 AMA National Motocross Championship series started, YamaLube Star Racing’s Aaron Plessinger took his first overall win this past weekend at Muddy Creek. Long known for his charges from the back of the pack, Plessinger has been getting his starts dialed in recently, which is critical in a class full of fast, hungry riders. Although he is not overly concerned with the points chase right now, his win has moved him up to fourth in the series. While points leader Zach Osborne may have a little gap over second place in points, Plessinger is actually very close to moving into second if he keeps riding like he did at Myddy Creek. We caught up with the 21-year-old to talk about his starts, the competition and his 450 future.

Muddy Creek was Aaron’s first National win of 2017. Photo: Mark Chilson

AARON, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR MUDDY CREEK WIN, THAT’S A PRETTY BIG DEAL THIS SUMMER!  We are getting there. You know, it’s just race by race, and practice by practice. We are just plugging away, and now that I have my starts down now it is a little bit easier to finish on top when you do that. I have been struggling to come from the back when I suffer a poor start, so we are getting there.

YOUR STARTS AT MUDDY CREEK WERE THE MOST NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE AT MUDDY CREEK. Gareth Swanepoel and I have been really working on it, and we just do it day by day. We have really been focusing on that a lot, and much of it is a confidence change, a focus change, and a little bit of technique.

WHERE ARE YOU STAYING AT NOW DURING THE NATIONALS? I am living in my fifth wheel that I bought earlier this year. We are staying in Concord, North Carolina. It is about 30 minutes east of Lake Norman and we are training with Cooper Web, Colt Nichols, Dylan Fernandez and Bradley Taft, so we have a big solid group. We invite some people out a couple of days a week so we have more people to ride with, and the track gets really good. So it is a really good set up out there.

YOU WORE A CAMELBACK AT HANGTOWN, AND AFTER THE RACES YOU LOOKED PRETTY WIPED OUT, HAS TRAINING DOWN SOUTH NOW HELPED YOU WITH HEAT AND HUMIDITY? Oh yeah, definitely moving to the southeast has helped with humidity. I wore a Camelbak at Hangtown, just because I knew we were going from 60-degree weather to 95-degree weather and I knew it was going to be hot. I decided to wear that and it really helped, and got me on the podium. I have not worn it these past few rounds, just for the fact that we went to North. Carolina and have been training in hot, humid conditions and just acclimating my body to that.

With Cooper Webb and both Martins leaving Star Yamaha at the end of 2016, Aaron has become their number one rider. Photo: Mark Chilson

YOUR TEAMMATES AT YAMALUBE STAR RACING HAVE HAD SUCCESS THIS SUMMER, BUT WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE THE TEAM LEADER? I am the team leader as of now. But you know, things can change. As of right now I am leading the team, and we are all doing really well. The other guys are going to step it up soon and hopefully we will get a 1-2-3 spot on the podium. That would be really good for Star Racing. We all get treated equally and I love the team that I am on.

ZACH OSBORNE HAS A DECENT POINTS LEAD, BUT DO YOU THINK THIS CHAMPIONSHIP IS STILL A POSSIBILITY? Yes. Definitely. I can still win the 250 Championship. You have to think about the championship, but right now, I am just taking it one step at a time. I don’t even know the points standings and I have not really been paying attention.  I have been just trying to click off my motos and ride consistently. I don’t really want to start counting points because once that plays in my mind, I’m not going to ride as well as I have been. I like to keep the pressure off myself and just go at it day by day.

Aaron crankin’ it. Photo: Mark Chilson

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE COMPETITION THIS YEAR? It’s stacked. You’ve got so many people that can win. It is unreal. The class is getting stronger and stronger every year — and once someone fast leaves, someone faster replaces him. It is not easy to podium in this class, let alone win. It is a very hard task and winning is a big accomplishment.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT A MOVE TO THE 450 CLASS IN 2018. ANY TALK? There has been some talk, but I’m signed with Bobby Reagan and YamaLube Star Racing for next year. I guess we will cross that bridge when it comes, but definitely next year in Supercross I will be on 250s — you never know for the outdoors.