Race Day Feed: Indianapolis

250 Main Event

If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see what we wrote about Aaron Plessinger and his heat race win over Malcolm Stewart. If you don’t feel like scrolling, here it is: “If you’ve been looking for a statement ride from Aaron Plessinger in his second year in supercross, you may have gotten in tonight.”

The Ohio native if quite fond of the Hoosier state apparently. At last year’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross finale, Plessinger got his first ever win at the Ironman National. Tonight, he got his first ever Monster Energy Supercross win—and celebrate with some nice dance moves with second place finisher Malcolm Stewart.

“I’m speechless right now,” he said. “I was so determined today, especially in front of the hometown crowd.”

Being that this is the East Region, of course (!!!) there was drama. While running third, Jeremy Martin made a huge mistake in the first rhythm section and went down—possibly tossing away his championship hopes as well. He was able to walk off, but did appear to be limping.

With Martin out, Plessinger was carrying the torch for the team, pulling a big gap over Malcolm Stewart. Mookie was making a few mistakes that allowed Plessinger to get out to the lead. Meanwhile, the fight for third was heating up.

In his first ride with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki, Gannon Audette started to pressure Martin Davalos late in the race. Then Davalos made a mistake over the dragon’s back and went down. He would finish fifth. Audette took third for his first ever supercross podium. Shane McElrath finished fourth.

RJ Hampshire, Anthony Rodriguez, Tyler Bowers, Luke Renzland and Cedric Soubeyras would round out the top ten.

Stewart now leads Plessinger by 10 points in the East Region.

450 LCQ

Vince Friese got the holeshot in the 450 LCQ with Jeff Alessi and Weston Peick trailing. This one had a chance to get interesting as Peick was sandwiched between Alessi and Friese, but he made quick work of both and took off for the win.

The racing was spread out until the final lap. Alex Ray and Tony Archer were battling for the final transfer spot. The two traded paint, but Archer got the best of it, passing Ray in the first rhythm section. Jeff Alessi nearly tossed away a transfer spot as he ran off the track in the whoop section on the final lap. He barley recovered and took fourth ahead of Ray.

450 Semi 2

Blake Baggett led wire to wire in the second 450 semi race to advance to the main event.

Baggett grabbed the holeshot over Theordore Pauli and Chad Reed, with Justin Barcia and Vince Friese trailing. Reed would quickly get into second and pressure Baggett for the entire five laps, but couldn’t make a pass stick. Justin Barcia rode to a lonely third.

Vince Friese held fourth until the final lap, when he made a mistake in the whoop section just before the finish and crashed. He was credited with sixth and will go to the LCQ.

Jake Weimer also made a mistake on the final lap, allowing Nick Wey to close in. Wey tried to make a move at the end of the last rhythm section, but it didn’t stick. Weimer and Wey would take the final transfer spots.

450 Semi 1

It was an all Alessi affair at the front of the first 450 semi race. Mike Alessi took the holeshot over his brother Jeff. Christophe Pourcel, who returned after a crash in his heat race, quickly got around Jeff for second. Weston Peick and Broc Tickle would follow Pourcel's lead.

Pourcel would lose second to Weston Peick, but Peick made a huge mistake in the whoop section and went down. He remounted and finished twelfth and will head to the LCQ.

Pourcel reclaimed second ahead of Broc Tickle. Nick Schmidt and Cade Clason would grab the final transfer spots.

250 LCQ

GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire was forced to the LCQ after crashing in his heat race, but was never really in trouble of not qualifying. Hampshire grabbed the early holeshot over Daniel Herrlein and Dakota Tedder. Hampshire was never really challenged and won by 3.4 seconds over Herrlein.

Henry Miller and Paul Coates would take the final transfer spots. Jesse Wentland did not lineup after crashing in his heat race.

450 Heat 2

It was the GEICO Honda of Justin Bogle that took the early lead in the second 450 heat. Ken Roczen nearly had the holeshot, but made a mistake and hit Jake Weimer. Josh Grant and Trey Canard were in tow.

Roczen wasted little time getting around Bogle and ran away with the heat win. His lead was 6.3 seconds at checkers.

Oklahoma buddies Trey Canard and Justin Bogle had a great battle for second. Bogle held strong for a number of laps before Canard railed the outside heading into the whoops and took over the spot. Josh Grant took the final qualifying spot.

Christophe Pourcel had a big crash at the end of the first rhythm section and did not return to the race. He did walk off the track under his own power, but spent some time with the medical crew before leaving the floor.

Jake Weimer, Weston Peick, Blake Baggett, Nick Schmidt and Nick Wey, among others are headed to the semi.

[Injury Update: James Stewart sprained his ankle in practice and will not race tonight.]

450 Heat 1

The first 450 heat race was dominated by the Europeans. BTOSports.com KTM’s Justin Brayton grabbed the early lead with Mike Alessi, Rockstar Energy Husqvaran’s Jason Anderson and Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey in tow.

Anderson quickly got around Alessi with Dungey following. Anderson opened a small gap over Dungey, thanks in part to a 44.702 lap—the fastest of the heat. Dungey made a late push on the final lap, though, and pulled alongside Anderson in the whoops. He couldn’t make it stick, though and Anderson took the win.

Tomac pressured Brayton late for third, but couldn’t make a pass stick.

Chad Reed, Alessi, Justin Barcia, Broc Tickle and more are headed to the semi.

250 Heat 2

If you’ve been looking for a statement ride from Aaron Plessinger in his second year in supercross, you may have gotten it tonight. Plessinger held off points leader Malcolm Stewart for nearly all six laps en route to the heat race win.

Dakota Alix, returning from injury, grabbed the holeshot. Plessinger quickly shot past, with Stewart joining him shortly after. The two leaders opened a sizable gap on third place Tyler Bowers.

Every time Stewart tried to pressure Plessinger into a mistake, the second year pro held strong to take the win.

“Being two hours away from my house, it’s crazy,” said Plessinger.

Bowers, Alix, Matt Bisceglia, Cedric Soubeyras, Gannon Audette, Anthony Rodriguez and Levi Kilbarger would all advance.

GEICO Honda’s RJ Hampshire went down at the end of the whoop section while in position to advance and finished tenth. He will head to the LCQ.

250 Heat 1

The first heat race of the night looked to be a Jeremy Martin runaway early, as the two-time 250 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Champion jumped out to an early lead over Shane McElrath, Martin Davalos and Alex Frye. Martin was cruising out front while Davalos was dealing with McElrath. Once Davalos made his way around McElrath, he started reeling in Martin.

By the final lap, Davalos had closed to the rear-wheel. Martin made a mistake in the final rhythm which allowed Davalos to cut to the inside, but Martin railed the outside berm to lead him into the whoops. A rider was down at the end of the section, which forced both riders to change their lines. As Davalos was jumping through the second section of the whoops, he lost control and went down. He did remount and finish third behind McElrath.

Alex Frye and Benny Bloss, who both had big crashes in practice, qualified fourth and fifth. Luke Renzland, Jacob Williamson, Justin Starling and Darryn Durham all advance to the main.

Second 450 Session

After missing the past three rounds due to a small crack in his C3 vertebrae, Christophe Pourcel was up to his old tricks in qualifying. After crashing in the long rhythm section while trying to set a fast lap, Pourcel took off late in the session, putting down a 45.587 to set the fastest time in the class.

Ryan Dungey tried to top Pourcel on the final lap, but could only put down a 45.922, good enough for second. Ken Roczen was the only other rider in the 45s, setting a 45.960 for third fastest.

Jason Anderson, who was quickest in the first session, finished fourth (46.478) over Trey Canard (46.488), Josh Grant (47.138), Justin Brayton (47.512), Eli Tomac (47.586), Justin Bogle (47.685) and Chad Reed (48.033).

In his second race back, Justin Barcia still wasn’t able to find the pace and finished 20th in the session with a 50.603. Barcia’s teammate, Weston Peick went down on the dragon’s back near the finish. He was able to finish the session, but was only 18th fastest. Justin Bogle also went down the same session and finished ninth.

Coverage begins at 7 pm ET tonight on FS1.

Second 250 Session

For a time during the second 250 A session, Malcolm Stewart held more than a second lead over Jeremy Martin and Tyler Bowers, among others. Stewart put down a 45.490 in the session—the fastest lap of the day—to top qualifying over Martin and Bowers.

Martin began to chip into Stewart’s lead late in the session, dropping to a 46.0 before setting a 45.731 on the final lap. After qualifying, Martin said that lines are constantly changing, and that the key will be who can put in 15 consistent laps, not just a fast lap. He also said he caught a bug during the two-week break and wasn’t able to do much.

Martin Davalos was fourth fastest, but had a big crash on the dragon’s back near the finish. He was able to get up and finished the session.

TLD/Red Bull KTM, already without Justin Hill for tonight, was dealt another blow when rookie Alex Frye went down at the end of the long rhythm section. He was able to get up under his own power, but spent a long time with medics before leaving the track. Fellow rookie Benny Bloss crashed over the finish line and was seen holding his arm/wrist. We’ll check on the status of both for tonight’s main event. Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@racerxonline) for the lastest.

Luke Renzland is back in action after breaking his collarbone earlier this year and set the sixth fastest time from the B session. Also back in action is Dakota Alix, who set the eleventh fastest time.

First 450 Session

Jason Anderson stole the fastest time from Ryan Dungey on the final lap of the first session with a 46.209. Dungey led for much of the session, but it wasn’t always smooth for the points leader. Dungey had a scary moment at the end of a long rhythm section after the finish, casing the final jump. He rode out of it, but it was sketchy.

Eli Tomac was third (47.027) with Ken Roczen (47.352) and the returning Christophe Pourcel (47.354) fifth.

First 250 Session

The 250 points leader is off to a good start in Indy. Malcolm Stewart set the fastest time in the first session with a 46.906 over Jeremy Martin (47.569) and Aaron Plessinger (47.697). Malcolm was able to take advantage in the whoops, which are directly out of a corner. The heavier Stewart was gaining a lot of his time through the section.

Martin Davalos, who is still in the championship hunt but needs some help, was fourth fastest with a 48.210 with Tyler Bowers (48.820) rounding out the top five

Morning Report

The 2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship rolls into Indianapolis for Round 13 (of 17). It’s a chilly 34 degrees outside, which feels more like 25 when you factor in the wind chill. The return to the Midwest also means the 250SX East Region is back in action for the first time since Detroit on March 19. On the heels of his first win of 2016 in Detroit, GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart enters the weekend with the red plate and a seven point lead over Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin. Martin’s teammate Aaron Plessinger is third, thirteen points behind Stewart.

KTM announced late yesterday that Marvin Musquin would miss this weekend after injuring his wrist in a practice crash in Santa Clara last weekend. Team manager Roger DeCoster said the team “hopes” he will only miss a race or two. "Marvin was doing so good this year and it's a bummer that the crash last weekend happened,” he said. “We hope that it will be kept short, to one or two races, and then he can resume racing." Musquin underwent surgery last off-season on his wrist, and was behind schedule entering the season. He’s been rolling lately, though, racking up four straight podiums before his crash in Santa Clara.

Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Justin Hill will miss his second straight race due to a concussion sustained in Detroit when he crashed in the second 250 timed practice session at the end of a fast rhythm section. TLD said that Hill tried to ride this week before deciding to sit out the weekend. A return date has yet to be determined.

In good news for KTM, Ryan Dungey enters the weekend forty-two points clear of Ken Roczen. Dungey’s podium streak has reached twenty-eight straight dating back to Round 2 at Phoenix last year, and he needs two more wins over the next five rounds to tie his career-high of eight set in 2015.