Aaron Plessinger gets first career 450 win as parity continues in 2024
SAN DIEGO, California: On a muddy but raceable track, Aaron Plessinger snatched the lead when Ken Roczen crashed early in Round 3 of the Monster Energy Supercross season at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego and held off a charge by Cooper Webb to win his first career 450 main.
Plessinger dominated last year in Detroit until he hooked a toe late in the race and was catapulted from his seat. Fittingly, Plessinger was wearing the same livery Saturday night as he did nearly one year ago when that victory slipped away.
Joining him on the podium at San Diego were two riders who have been training partners of Plessinger in the past. And on this night, both Cooper Webb and Justin Barcia took a few moments to become fans of one of Supercross' most popular rider.
With back-to-back top-fives prior to San Diego, Plessinger also assumes the red plate heading into next week's Round 4 at Anaheim.
Webb closed on Plessinger in the final laps, but when he got hung up while trying to lap Chase Sexton, he lost too much ground to overtake.
Barcia took the final podium spot with a slow-starting Jett Lawrence finishing fourth.
Jason Anderson rounded out the top five.
Sexton and Malcolm Stewart crashed early and had a lot of ground to make up, which neither rider could. Stewart fell a lap off the pace early and eventually finished 19th. Sexton was lapped in the closing laps and with two remaining, Webb believed Sexton was kinder to his teammate Plessinger as he navigated through traffic than he was to Webb.
Eli Tomac also crashed and hurt his clutch. He fell back to 20th and was barely able to find his way back inside the top 10 in ninth.
250 Main Event
Nate Thrasher took the lead from Garrett Marchbanks in traffic and held on to win his first 250 West division of the 2024 Supercross championship. As with Plessinger in the 450 class, Thraher became the third different winner in three 250 West races so far this year.
One week after scoring his first podium in two years, Marchbanks held off a determined charge by RJ Hampshire in the closing lap to finish second while Hampshire crashed with three turns remaining and fell from third to sixth.
Hampshire's fall elevated Thrasher's Yamaha teammate Jordon Smith to third and allowed him to hang onto the red plate for one more week.
After having trouble in his heat, Jo Shimoda finally earned a top-five in fourth with Levi Kitchen rounding out the top five.
RJ Hampshire got the holeshot and early lead, just as he did in his heat. This time he completed the first lap without incident and maintained the top spot.
Hampshire couldn't shake Kitchen as the two alternated riding side-by-side and nose-to-tail. Near halfway, Kitchen was trying to be patient, until he faced a muddy jump and fell.
With seven minutes remaining, Marchbanks took the lead from Hampshire in traffic.
But traffic would take away that lead several laps later just as easily; Marchbanks lost the top sport to Thrasher after getting stuck behind a lapper.
Last Chance Qualifiers
450 LCQ
The 450 division get a good start and everyone makes it through Turn 1.
After getting bammed by Barcia in their heat, Adam Cianciarulo survives the start and takes the early lead.
Shane McElrath is in second and challenging.
Cianciarulo maintains a good margin and beats McElrath, Justin Rodbell and Dean Wilson, all of who transfer to the Main.
250 LCQ
There is a big wreck in Turn 1, but Joshua Varize and TJ Albright make it through. Josh Greco and Max Sanford have the other two transfer spots.
Sanford will come up a little short of getting his first Main in more than a decade. He gives up fourth to Lance Kobusch.
Varize holds on for the win over Albright, Kobusch moves up to third and Sanford takes the last transfer position.
450 Heat Races
Heat 2
Chase Sexton gets hung up behind the field in the land rush - including Hunter Lawrence. Sexton is next-to-last.
Roczen gets the early lead over Plessinger and Dyland Ferrandis. Sexton ends that lap 16th.
The crowd erupts as AP and Kenny battle. Ferrandis is third.
With a minute and a half still on the clock, Sexton and Lawrence are outside the transfer position. And then, as time runs down, they both advance into the top nine.
Plessinger wins over Roczen. Webb moves up to third with Ferrandis and Christian Craig rounding out the top five.
Heat 1
Jett Lawrence knows the safest place to be is up front so he takes the early lead over Eli Tomac. Malcoln Stewart is third and they have a straightaway lead over the field halfway through.
With three minutes remaining, Jett crashes and falls back to sixth. Tomac takes the lead and now Benny Bloss, on a Beta, is in third.
Tomac's core strength holds up for the victory but Stewart closed the gap and finished on his back wheel in second.
Lawrence rounds out the podium with Bloss fall to fourth and Justin Barcia overcoming a crash with Adam Cianciarulo to round out the top five.
250 Heat Races
Heat 2
RJ Hampshire takes the early lead but he jumps off the track just as he crosses the finish line. With so much stalled momentum in the field, Hampshire stays in a transfer position in seventh.
Hampshire's problems elevate Marchbanks to the lead over Smith and Phil Nicoletti.
The track is rutting up badly, but riders are able to jump in a couple of rhythm sections.
Marchbanks holds on to win over Smith and scores his third heat victory.
Nicoletti, Ryder DiFrancesco and Hunter Yoder round out the top five.
Hampshire held on for sixth.
Heat 1
The red flag will occasion a complete restart.
This time Kitchen gets the early advantage. Thrasher gets a start for the second time; he's second.
Shimoda is another rider who took advantage of the restart. He's fourth behind Kitchn, Thrasher and Varize.
Varize goes down on the final lap and drops from a transfer position.
On the same lap, Shimoda also goes down but he was credited with third nonetheless.
With time running off the clock, Kitchen has stretched a six second lead over the field.
Mud races are the great equalize. Nate Thrasher and Mitchell Oldenburg take the early lead on the first start.
Big pileup coming over the finish line. A couple of riders go down, including Billy Laninovich, and more pile in. Braden Spangle was the last man into the incident and he took a hard fall. The red flag waves as he is helped from the track.
Qualification
Roczen posts the fastest time in 450 Group A, Qualification 1 ahead of Tomac, Sexton, Anderson and Ferrandis.
Jett Lawrence is just outside that mark in sixth, but this is not what we've come to expect from the SuperMotocross World Champion.
In the 250 class, Smith continues with the hot hand. He was fastest in Qualification 1. Shimoda is still looking to turn his season around in second and Hampshire was third.
Group B, Qualification 1 is in the books with Max Miller sitting at the top of the board, followed by Talon Hawkins and Laninovich rounding out the top three.
Free Practice
Tomac (49.701) was the first 450 rider to crack the 50 second mark but he was quickly eclipsed by Roczen (49.554).
Anderson jumps to second. Three riders end the session under 50 seconds.
Jett Lawrence is just outside that mark in fourth. Plessinger rounds out the top five.
One never knows about coastal weather, so practicing in the dry could be beneficial. Group A 250 riders have shaved nearly two seconds off the B Group with Shimoda (50.592) taking the early lead.
Near the end, Smith becomes the first rider to crack the 50 second mark at 49.934; Shimoda, Thrasher, Hampshire and Ryder DiFrancesco round out the top five.
250 Group B has some interesting riders. Hawkins leads the field early with a time of just over 52 seconds while local rider Laninovich sits third.
450 FP times pic.twitter.com/82tJIvsJs5
— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) January 20, 2024
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