Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger raced his way to fourth overall in the 450MX Class at Round 5 of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship at RedBud, with 250MX contenders Tom Vialle and Maximus Vohland securing P4 and P6 finishes for the weekend.
In the morning’s qualifying sessions, Plessinger powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to the eighth-fastest time, before he gained momentum come time for the pair of premier class motos this afternoon.
Two top 10 starts resulted in consistent moto finishes for the number 7, with Plessinger navigating the rough, high-speed circuit to a 4-4 moto scorecard, which resulted in fourth overall at RedBud as he moves to third in the point-standings.
Aaron Plessinger: “Practice and qualifying were pretty rough for me, but I sent it in the opening moto! I got a pretty good start and battled my way up to fourth, then second moto, pretty much the same deal... Got a good start, was third for a little bit, and then rode a pretty lonely fourth for 30 minutes – that was crazy. I was a little sore out there, but 4-4 on the day, fairly happy with it, and now we'll go home and do some homework before Southwick."
In 250MX, current world champion Vialle marched his way into the top-five in the opening moto, before a collision with another rider saw him tumble down the order. A late race charge had the Frenchman recover to finish in ninth, before another good start in moto two resulted in a hard-fought second place, which would land him P4 overall for his RedBud weekend.
Tom Vialle: “Another weekend finished here at RedBud, where I had some difficulties in the first moto with a couple of crashes and could only finish in ninth. Second moto was again way better, I finished second in that moto after some good fights, so lots of positives again, and now we’ll go back to Florida this week to get as prepared as possible for the next race in the sand at Southwick.”
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 250 SX-F teammate Vohland posted a consistent scorecard at Round 5, delivering two mistake-free sixth-place finishes for sixth overall, maintaining seventh in the season standings with six rounds remaining.
Maximus Vohland: "It was a good day today for me at RedBud. I started outside the top 10 in both motos, but was able to work my way forward for sixth in each moto. I feel strong, the bike is working really well, though I will shift focus to starts this week. I'm looking forward to carrying good momentum into Southwick."
450MX regular Cooper Webb – previously third in the points – suffered an unfortunate mid-week fall while training ahead of the Pro Motocross Championship round at RedBud, which would see him sidelined for the weekend altogether.
Next Race: July 8 – Southwick, Massachusetts
Results 450MX Class – Red Bud National
1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 1-1
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA), Yamaha, 3-2
3. Chase Sexton (USA), Honda, 2-3
4. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM, 4-4
OTHER KTM
19. Brandon Scharer (USA), KTM
28. Trevor Schmidt (USA), KTM
34. Christopher Prebula (USA), KTM
42. Jeffrey Walker (USA), KTM
Results 250MX Class – Red Bud National
1. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 2-3
2. Levi Kitchen (USA), Yamaha, 8-1
3. Justin Cooper (USA), Yamaha, 4-4
4. Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM, 9-2
OTHER KTM
6. Maximus Vohland (USA), KTM, 6-6
19. Slade Smith (RSA), KTM
20. Matti Jorgensen (DEN), KTM
21. Lux Turner (USA), KTM
22. Derek Kelley (USA), KTM
25. Marcus Phelps (USA), KTM
26. Ethan Lane (GBR), KTM
27. Blaze Cremaldi (USA), KTM
30. Bryson Raymond (USA), KTM
33. Hunter Cross (USA), KTM
37. Bailey Kroone, (USA), KTM
39. Nicholas Inman, (USA), KTM
40. Cameron Skaalerud, (USA), KTM
Standings 450MX Class 2023 after 5 of 11 rounds
1. Jett Lawrence, 250 points
2. Dylan Ferrandis, 193
3. Aaron Plessinger, 174
OTHER KTM
5. Cooper Webb, 147
29. Dante Oliveira, 15
30. Max Miller, 13
31. Christopher Prebula, 12
32. Tyler Stepek, 11
34. Brandon Scharer, 7
36. Trevor Schmidt, 4
43. Jeffrey Walker, 1
Standings 250MX Class 2023 after 5 of 11 rounds
1. Hunter Lawrence, 200 points
2. Haiden Deegan, 189
3. RJ Hampshire, 168
OTHER KTM
7. Maximus Vohland, 137
8. Tom Vialle, 134
19. Derek Kelley, 28
25. Slade Smith, 17
32. Matti Jorgensen, 5
34. Lux Turner, 5
35. Josh Varize, 4
38. Marcus Phelps, 2