Earlier this afternoon, Yamaha announced that Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Aaron Plessinger will make his debut in the 2019 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship this weekend at the Southwick National. 

Plessinger, who suffered a broken heel at the Daytona Supercross, was planning on making his 2019 Pro Motocross debut a the Florida National but suffered setbacks with his recovery process that kept him on the sideline. While he was in attendance of the Florida National last weekend, he did not race. He will make his debut on the track at The Wick 338 this weekend. Plessinger is the 2018 Lucas Oil 250 Class Pro Motocross Champion. 

“I’m super excited to get back to racing,” Plessinger said. “It’s been about four months now since I got hurt. I don’t think I’ve taken that much time off a dirt bike in a long, long time, so it’s been about the longest four months of my life. I’ve been back on a bike now for probably five weeks and I’m feeling really good. Yamaha came out before the Florida National and I was able to get some really good testing in. I’m really happy with my bike right now.”

Plessinger has been riding and practicing at Justin Barcia’s compound in Florida recently. We’ve seen videos on social media of him chasing Barcia and vice versa and have been anticipating his return to the field. Now we will see how he fairs with the rest of the 450 Class. Plessinger has set reachable expectations heading into his first race of the championship and his first race in the premier class of Pro Motocross. 

“Heading to Southwick, my expectations… I really want to get a good start and run with the top guys,” he said. “I’ve been practicing my starts this week. I’m ready to do some work and looking forward to seeing everybody again.”

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing team manager Jim Perry commented on Plessinger's work ethic during his recovery.

“The 2018 250MX National Champion spent months working to recover from his broken right heel injured at the Daytona Supercross,” Perry said. “Plessinger has been able to put time on his Yamaha YZ450F, riding and training in Florida and is eager to join his teammates Justin Barcia and Dean Ferris at the sixth round of the championship.”