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= Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing’s Aaron Plessinger battled back to finish eighth in challenging conditions last night at the second round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross tripleheader at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dylan Ferrandis recovered from a crash just before the halfway mark to finish 11th. Malcolm Stewart had a big get-off after the start of the race and, unfortunately, was unable to finish. The conditions were tough on Tuesday, with much warmer weather and another physically demanding track with big jumps and long lap times. Plessinger started the day off with a decent qualifying effort inside the top 10. He didn’t get off the gate as he hoped in his heat race but worked his way to fifth. In the Main Event, he had a front-row seat to Stewart’s crash and found himself back in 15th after going off track. Plessinger put his head down and made his way into the top 10 a couple of laps before they reached the halfway point. He moved to ninth after Ferrandis’ crash and then advanced another position to end the night eighth. Finishing fourth in his heat race, Ferrandis went into the Main Event with the eighth gate pick. The Frenchman got a decent start in the top 10 and was looking to pull off another charge into the top five. Sitting in eighth with a rider in his sights, he made a mistake and went down after the tabletop jump. Ferrandis rejoined in 12th and was able to move into 11th in the final laps. Stewart’s night got off to a good start with a third-place finish in his heat race. Unfortunately, the Florida rider crashed hard in the first double after the start, ending his night early. The Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing team returns this Saturday, April 17, for the final round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross tripleheader at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing 450 Team Manager “Man, it was a tough night for us. The day started out well with a decent qualifying and some solid results in the heats. Unfortunately, both Malcolm and Dylan crashed in the Main Event, and Aaron didn’t get the starts he needed tonight. We’re going to regroup and keep working for a better result on Saturday.” Aaron Plessinger – Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing “I wish it would’ve gone a little better. I came from the back in my heat race and ended up fifth. In the Main Event, I had an okay start going, then Malcolm crashed off the first double, and his bike chased me off the track. I had to work my way back through to eighth. I was happy with my riding but definitely not happy with my starts. “The track was pretty good. It wasn’t too slick, and the dirt was pretty grippy overall. It got rough and rutted, and the whoops broke down quite a lot, but I was hitting them good and was just moving along. I’m not happy with the result. So we’ll come back Saturday and get out front as I did at the last one and hopefully get up on the box.” Dylan Ferrandis – Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing “I felt good all day. I was fighting for the top five in qualifying, and then I had a pretty bad crash in the last session and kind of hurt my hand a little bit. I had a pretty good race going and was battling with the guy ahead of me. Then after the big wall, I opened the throttle a little bit too hard and wheelied, losing a little bit of control with the bike, and I crashed. I pushed so hard in the first few laps that I kind of burned myself out. After that, it was difficult, and I couldn’t really get my rhythm back and finished 11th.” Malcolm Stewart – Monster Energy Star Yamaha Racing “The night started off with a good heat race, finishing third. I got an okay start in the Main Event but went down hard in the first double. It happened so fast I don’t even know what happened. I’m feeling pretty beat up and disappointed with how the night ended, but we’re going to rest up and come back fighting.” |
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