"I Felt I Owed it to the Fans...I Owed it to My Team" | Aaron Plessinger on Racing SLC

With the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross series coming to an end, there have been many storylines we could talk about. Chase Sexton won his first 450 Supercross championship in an incredible fashion, proving the old adage, "Never give up." Eli Tomac is now second all-time in Supercross win and lost a championship in a manner that demonstrates the saying, "Anything can happen." Ken Roczen finished fourth in the championship and got a win on the Suzuki, proving, "you should never count out the underdog." Aaron Plessinger's story may not be the headline those stories are, but it's an underrated and impressive one.

Red Bull Factory KTM's Aaron Plessinger is not a rider we typically have highlighted when discussing our pre-season 'favorites' to win championships or even races. That's not to say he's not considered capable of winning, but more that with the number of elite riders in the 450 class, the chances are somewhat low. When discussing AP with almost anyone, it's his personality, his laugh, and his fan interaction that gets mentioned. AP is undoubtedly a fan favorite with his "Do it for Dale" and "Yeehaw's" when on the microphone. I genuinely don't know how anyone could not like him. The entire industry had their hearts broken when he made a mistake at Detroit this year and missed his first 450-win. He's made steps to change the narrative of not being a contender this Supercross season.

Coming into '23, Aaron's previous best overall season finish was fifth in 2021, where he raced all 17 rounds and had four top fives, including one podium in Daytona with an average finish of 7.5. Keep in mind that was his final season on the Factory Yamaha. Although his overall finish for '23 was not as good (7th), he only raced 14 of the 17 rounds but had five top fives with two podiums and an average finish of 6.3. Just think if he'd won Detroit. His average finish would have been 5.5, but as Lewis Phillips is keen on saying, "If 'if's' and 'buts' were candy and nuts..." 

Something I noticed early on in the season was the added aggression in his riding. In the past, we've seen riders overtake AP without a lot of fight. It felt like his easy-going personality off the track was rolling into his on-the-track character. At A1, I noticed something different in him, and when he came on the MotoXpod Show that week (EP 254), I brought that up. He told us, "I have a different feeling this year. I want to get on the podium...Being aggressive is the only way to do it with 13-14 guys that potentially can be on the box." This change in attitude hasn't fully manifested itself into him being a podium threat every week, but it's a step in the right direction.

This is also AP's second year on the KTM which was all new when he signed on for 2022. The team struggled last year to get the riders comfortable, and their results showed this. Aaron told us back in January, "It sounds weird after being on this bike for a year, but I'm still getting used to how this thing turns." We have to consider all these things to see the whole picture when discussing a rider's season and whether it was successful. The team made improvements when looking at the results from AP and his teammate, Cooper Webb, this season, and one can only surmise that year three for AP will be another step forward.

Another ingredient in a rider's success that we often discuss is the mental side. Aaron also mentioned on EP 254 that, at times, he struggles with holding onto a mistake made during a race for a couple of laps, and that was a focus for this year. He said, "I'm working more on myself and not so much on the bike this year. When I make a mistake, I'm trying not to dwell on it because that's a tendency I've had. It can ruin a few laps." Lewis Phillips asked him if this was something he's always dealt with, if it was since moving to the 450 class, or even just since going to KTM. Aaron answered, "I do think it's been a long-term thing I've been dealing with, but since I've gone to the 450s, it's grown." These types of habits are extremely difficult to break, and time will tell if he's overcome that. Seattle would be a big test of that after the way Detroit went. Was his seventh in Seattle due to the crash and subsequent 13th place in Detroit weighing on him? That's hard to say, but I like that AP admitted to this being an issue, and he's at least working to improve it.

Unfortunately, AP missed a few races this season due to a crash during qualifying in East Rutherford that left him with a lot of bruising and swelling in his hips and groin. Injuries have plagued him numerous times in his career, as they do most professional racers. We can only guess where he would have finished in points if he'd been able to line up at the three races he missed. Our own Lewis Phillips talked to him post-race in Salt Lake City about coming back, and AP mentioned, "Unfortunately, a lot of guys are hurt, and I felt I owed it to the fans to get more guys out there. I felt I owed it to my team. I missed a lot of races last year, and I wanted to make it back to Salt Lake for a vengeance." He told Lewis it was not only tough to miss out on the opportunity for some great results, but seeing his competitors go out the way they did was a shot in the gut. He went on to say he expected more out of himself earlier in the season, but once he got some good results in Houston, Tampa, and Oakland, he knew he had a lot of good to take away from the season. He sees how he's progressed in his riding and speed, as well as how the bike has progressed, and is looking forward to the Pro Motocross Championship.

Will Aaron Plessinger ever be picked as a pre-season title threat? I think there's still some improvements he'll have to make and results needed for that to be the case, but AP is aware of that and making moves to be one of those guys. Hopefully, Aaron will have a healthy and competitive outdoor season and continue to grow as a racer. One thing is for certain, the fans love him and he's great for the sport and when he gets his first 450 win the crowd will go insane.