Aaron Plessinger body slammed hard into the dirt a few weeks ago in New Jersey, but there’s a good chance the Red Bull KTM man was still laughing and smiling anyway, because it appears nothing can bring the man down. He suited back up for Monster Energy Supercross in Salt Lake City, and brought it back to a podium finish, with second place.
Justin Hill had been even deeper into the depths, straight up not racing at all in 2021, then attempting a comeback in ’22 that never got off the ground. He finally did return to the track this year as teammates with his brother, Josh, at Team Tedder Monster Energy KTM. He’s been steady all year, and capped it with a podium at the finale, his first since his 450 debut back in 2018.
These are two interesting guys to talk to. Here’s what they said together in the post-race press conference.
Aaron Plessinger
AP, I know the body is banged up, but I know you wanted to be here. How are you feeling, and then take me through the day, especially once the rain started. Aaron Plessinger: [Laughs] It feels good to cap the season off with a podium, obviously went down a few weeks ago and didn’t know if I was gonna make it back. The first day I was back I only made it 13 laps and called it a day, then I did a half day of outdoor riding after that. Then we were back at it So, still a little sore but, yeah, it was a crazy day. The clouds kept rolling in and out, it was cold, hot, cold hot, if this was the Midwest, I’d be expecting a tornado. When the rain started coming down, I was like “Eh.” Because this track is always like concrete or glass, and I could have dealt without that. But it was fun. When the gate dropped for the heat race it was still pretty rideable, but the whoops were pretty sketchy, as you could see! I took out the bales and the (TV) camera. But we rebounded pretty good, I’d say, and got second in the main. Pumped to cap it off like this.
Are you ready and pumped for outdoors.
[Laughs] I would say by the time outdoors gets here, I’ll be ready. I can do two 35s right now, but how fast? I’m not sure just yet. We’ll have to get to Pala to see. But I’m pumped, pumped to get supercross over with and be headed outdoors. I’m ready for a long hot summer. I’m ready for it.
The bull got away from you in the whoops in that heat race. What happened there man?
[Laughs] I was just giving the crowd a show, man. I was racing Chase hard, and this year, when Chase is behind me, I tend to come off the bike a little bit! I don’t know. I was thinking “I hope this looks cool because it doesn’t feel cool.
We saw you in Nashville, but you weren’t able to ride. What is the issue right now?
[Laughs] Yeah, I think it’s just bruising in my hips and my groin. It’s not like it hurts like crazy, it’s just…there. Every time I case something or have to squeeze the bike. [Laughs] I don’t really like stuff down there hurting too much, makes me nervous! It’s a little sore right now, but it’s okay, I can ride a dirt bike.
Did you expect the podium coming in with the injury?
[Laughs] Yeah. I didn’t race last weekend because I was really, really sore still. I rode that week, but I didn’t feel I was up to par to do 20 minutes. I didn’t want to then go out here and be way too sore. I wanted to be here to race for the win, and that’s what I did in the heat race. Then I got a good start in the main for where my gate pick was. So that’s what we did, but obviously Chase was just stellar. Justin and Adam had a really good battle going there. It was fun, one of the funnest races I’ve had this year. I don’t know where my expectations were coming into this race, but I’ll take second.
Second podium of the year for you. What will be the main things you take away from this season?
[Laughs] I don’t know. It was a good season, obviously up and down. I got a lot of fourths and two podiums. It’s kind of similar to but it still feels better. Last year my season got cut short at the seventh round, and I wasn’t able to race, and I was coming into outdoors with half of my fitness kinda gone. So, I’m happy to be out there. It was a good season to say the least, I led like 20 laps without winning a race. Crazy stats, but I’ll take away how to lead a race and... [Laughs] how to crash leading a race. How to make it exciting, I guess. But no, I’m pumped and I’m excited for next year.
Justin Hill
Justin at East Rutherford you told me you were starting to feel it. Since then, everything has started to come around. What’s it like, knowing the life changes you’ve had, the season you’ve had, all you’ve gone through, and now here you are on the podium.
Justin Hill: It’s kind of crazy. Like you said, a lot of life has happened to me in the last two and a half years since I’ve been away from the sport. I’ve got two kids, all of this major life stuff. I was a cop, I was doing all of this other stuff and not riding at all. I was just doing hill climbs here and there with the Matt Musgrove series, the Moto Climb Super Series, and that was a lot of fun and it kind of gave me the itch back again last summer. It was a building block year. I really wanted to get my feet wet and just keep it on two wheels for the whole year and not have any big get offs. I only had one round, in Phoenix, where I tweaked my back and that was the only race I didn’t feel 100 percent. That was it. That usually doesn’t happen for me, other years have been way more rough than that. I feel what really contributes to that is the atmosphere we have over at Team Tedder. They really support me, and they love this stuff. They provided the atmosphere I needed to come back.
Justin, each week the last three weeks you’ve improved. How much testing do you do with Team Tedder? Is that a factor, improving the bike?
It’s quite the opposite. We can test as much as we request, and we’re able to obtain most things that we ask for, but I honestly stopped thinking about it. I kinda chased some things that aren’t really there for me, and I don’t even know if I need it. So, I just kind of left it alone and quite honestly I took a lot more time off during the week than I ever had during my career. And Dakota (Tedder, Team Manager) kind of spearheaded that. He was like “Dude, you look tired.” I was like “Well, I feel tired!” I was worked. For me, if I was off the bike, I was in the gym twice a day. I just took the year so seriously that I think I was making a mistake. So not to shoot your question down, it was pretty much the opposite of what you said. Less riding and not testing much, and then I just rode. It got to the point where I had tons more bike feel. I was so confident by the end of this thing. I wish I could do 10 more of these.
Five years since your first podium, in 2018. What were your expectations coming into the season, and what are your prospects entering the motocross season?
To be honest, I didn’t know where I stood. I was out of the series for so long. You say five years since my last podium, but that was only two seasons on a bike, because I had two seasons off. I didn’t know where I was gonna be, I was just gonna bust out here and be like “This is where I am, or this is where I am.” After the first few rounds, I knew I had a lot of work to do. Ultimately my goals were kinda reaches, so the goal posts kept moving. By today, I was like “I want to podium, bad.” Like Daniel said, I’ve been feeling really good since New Jersey. My qualifying was good, everything was good, and I was like, it’s time to get on that box. I always believe in myself. I think that I’m truly as good as anybody, and if I put in the work I’ll get it.
I’m not racing motocross, but I’m looking forward to the SMX races at the end of the year. I’m doing those. I think they’ll be like three big Monster Cups, and some really cool venues. That will give us an opportunity to shake down what we’re doing for 2024. Really looking forward to that.
So, you don’t like motocross?
I do. There just wasn’t any place to go when it was time for me to sign up [with a team]. Had I known some [fill in] spots would open up, and possibly some interest, maybe I would have stuck around and waited, but I don’t want to be second string. I want to plan my route. I’m not in the motocross business, I’m in the providing for my family business. I just want to make sure I have a job and a steady thing going on.
Justin, once again you and your brother were both in the top ten. How special was that?
Well for us, being a motocross family, this was really special because our folks came out. That was pretty cool. To both [brothers] get into the top ten, that hadn’t happened in like 50 years, and we were able to do it quite a few times this year. I have a feeling those two over there [Hunter and Jett Lawrence] are going to beat all of records here pretty soon [laughs] but for now, me and Josh are having the time of our lives. We’re enjoying this thing. Team Tedder made it happen. Josh was the one who said, “You should call Dakota, he’s interested in putting something together.” I had the hunger to come race again, but I really needed to have something to look forward to. So yeah, to answer your question, we’re very excited [to be doing this well]. Very special.
How did you make that pass on Adam [Cianciarulo] and how were you feeling?
It felt like it was just right there. I was doing my best to be patient, I didn’t want to get all cattywampus and miss my opportunity. However, AP got by Adam and then took off. I was like “Oh no! I gotta go! I gotta get him.” I had an opportunity to get next to him, and I felt like, if I could just get next to him, I could get him. The track was so tricky and so rutted. And that’s what happened. We made a little bit of contact, I didn’t mean to hit him, it was more like our lines came together. I was able to get the next rhythm and he missed it. And I was like “Thank God, he missed it!” [Laughs] I was holding on for dear life trying to make the pass and scoot by. I wanted to keep Aaron in sight. I don’t think I kept him in sight, but that was my goal.