The sun didn’t shine much in San Diego last year until Aaron Plessinger outlasted the field on a muddy track and scored his first 450 class victory, but his smile in the media center following the race wiped away the clouds.
Ascending to the professional ranks in 2015, Plessinger immediately gained notice by winning Rookie of the Year honors in both the Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross 250 division. In that class during his career, he scored eight Motocross wins, but the stadium series eluded him.
MORE: Aaron Plessinger gets first career 450 win in San Diego
Plessinger rose rapidly into the 450 division, but racing for Monster Energy Star Yamaha he scored just one top-five in 2019. In fact, Plessinger’s overall performance was not particularly impressive until he found his home with Red Bull KTM in 2022. The past three years have been marked by steady improvement.
Hunter Lawrence swept the top five in both Pro Motocross and the SuperMotocross World Championship after struggling in Supercross.
Supercross continued to be his Achilles Heel in his first season with KTM. He finished 19th in the standings that year before cracking the top 10 in Motocross.
Plessinger showed skill in the Supercross series and cracked the top five in the standings before his move, but a fifth-place ranking in 2021 was due mostly to consistency and one solid podium at Daytona International Speedway when he memorably dedicated the race to the fallen NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
There was still work to be done. Finishing seventh in the 2022 Pro Motocross Championship gave Plessinger the confidence needed to earn a second Supercross top-10 points finish the following year. And another seventh-place ranking in the stadium series provided the momentum for Plessinger to finish third in Motocross that summer. Plessinger rounded out the 2023 season with a fifth-place result in the SuperMotocross World Championship.
Jason Anderson will turn 32 early in the 2025 Supercross season, which puts some added stress on his performance this year.
Still, Plessinger entered San Diego with a weight on his shoulders and his victory was a celebrated by the entire field, including Cooper Webb and Justin Barcia, who joined him on the podium.
Plessinger was on pace for another top-five points finish in Supercross until being sidelined by an elbow injury prior Round 13 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Missing five rounds of Supercross relegated him to 11th in points, but his average finish of 4.9 told an entirely different story.
While Plessinger failed to win in Motocross in 2024, he was part of the storyline every week with six podium finishes, another pair of top-fives, and a sweep of the top 10.
Ken Roczen finished second in all three rounds of the 2023 SMX playoffs but missed his opportunity to improve last year because of injury.
In the SuperMotocross playoffs, Plessinger kept his top-10 sweep alive with an eighth at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, a seventh at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and a fourth in the season finale in Las Vegas.
There are questions surrounding the longevity of the KTM brands in professional motorcycle racing and the 2025 season could be pivotal for Plessinger after he signed a one-year extension in April, 2024. He is going to need more victories to legitimately contend for one of the three SuperMotocross Championships.
2024 Statistics
Feature starts: 26
Average feature finish: 5.15
Wins: 1
Podiums: 9
Top-fives: 16
Top-10s: 25
Best finish: Won (San Diego SX)
SMX Standings/payout: Fourth/$2000,000
2024 News
Team USA riders react to 2024 MXoN
Chase Sexton, Plessinger named 2024 MXoN Team USA riders
Plessinger extends contract with Red Bull KTM through 2025
Plessinger out for remainder of 2024 SX with fractured elbow
Plessinger returns triumphantly to Detroit
Plessinger gets first career 450 win in San Diego
Selling the sport: The importance of personality in Supercross
450 Countdown
6. Hunter Lawrence
7. Jason Anderson
8. Ken Roczen
9. Justin Cooper
10. Justin Barcia
11. Malcolm Stewart
12. Dylan Ferrandis
13. Christian Craig
14. Shane McElrath
15. Dean Wilson
250 Countdown
6. Jordon Smith
7. Pierce Brown
8. Cameron McAdoo
9. Ty Masterpool
10. Chance Hymas
11. Garrett Marchbanks
12. Max Anstie
13. Julien Beaumer
14. Coty Schock
15. Ryder DiFrancesco
More SuperMotocross News
2025 SX schedule | MX schedule | WMX Schedule
2025 Supercross tickets on sale | Pro Motocross tickets
2025 TV Schedule | Track Maps
Jordon Smith needs early momentum in the stadium series
SMX announces partnership to initiate sports betting
Hunter Lawrence shone brightest on 2024 outdoor tracks
WMX announces six-round schedule for 2025
Jason Anderson and the ticking clock
What might have been for Cameron McAdoo
Yamaha Star Racing announces seven rider team
Reid Taylor replaces injured Devin Simonson
Ken Roczen has the SMX Championship in mind
Devin Simonson injures wrist, will likely miss start of SX 250 East
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