Aaron Plessinger and Mitchell Falk top amateur showcase classes at Monster Energy Cup.
Amateur All-Stars
Aaron Plessinger earned a footnote in Monster Energy Cup history when he became the first rider in the four-year history of the event to win the Amateur All-Stars Championship via 1-1 race finishes in the two six-lap Main Events. The Amateur All-Stars class is an invitational for riders aged 15-18 years old. The riders compete 250cc four-strokes. This year’s invitation list consisted of riders from 12 States, along with Venezuela and Mexico.
The first All-Star race produced its fair share of carnage in the left lane as the field entered the stadium after the start, but Jon Ames managed to run just ahead of it and come out behind Darian Sanayei when the field joined together. They were followed by Jordon Smith, Robbie Wageman and Plessinger. The carnage continued when the day’s fast qualifier, Smith, went over the bars of his Factory Connection AMSOIL Honda in the first rhythm section, ruining his chances for the race win.
Plessinger moved past Ames at the start of lap two and tried to run down Sanayei, who had built a 1.7-second lead by the time the race was just two laps old. Plessinger closed in on Sanayei with two laps to go and dropped to the inside just as they went through the small kicker jumps that led the riders outside the stadium. Sanayei tried to fight back when they reached the end of the long straightaway on the other end of the stadium, but that was as close as he would get. Plessinger pulled away and grabbed a clean victory over Sanayei, with Benny Bloss third.
Plessinger, who stands 6’2” tall, said that his height really helped him on the Las Vegas track.
“It really helps me to get in-between those technical sections and push my bike down,” Plessinger said. “This coming year in supercross, it is going to help me a lot with the whoops and corner speed. It’s just raw, and if you want to win, you’ve got to go for it.”
Plessinger came through second on his side of the gate at the start of Race 2, but he found himself in second place, behind Sanayei when the field came together at the end of Monster Alley. Plessinger appeared to go into stalk mode as he followed Sanayei, but he came up short over the finish line jump and lost a little time to the leader at the end of lap two. Plessinger’s mistake also allowed third-place rider Marshal Weltin to close in and potentially make it a three-rider battle for the win.
Plessinger continued to shadow Sanayei on lap three, making his bid for the lead through the main rhythm section and sealing the deal with a pass to the outside through the left-hand turn at the end of it. After that, Plessinger had no trouble keeping Sanayei at bay to win the race and clinch the Amateur All-Stars Championship. Smith got an excellent drive on the final dash to the finish line to steal second place away from Sanayei at the finish. Sanayei was third.
“I knew what I had to do,” Plessinger said. “I had to beat Darien, and I had to win the race, so I just did what I could. I kind of double-doubled through there behind him, and got past him. I over-jumped the triple the first lap I did it, and that messed me up a little bit, but I regrouped and did what I could, and I won. Hearing ‘em [the crowd] cheer for you, it’s awesome. Racing under the lights is something different but, as you can tell, I got used to it from Ricky’s [Carmichael] Road to Supercross. The atmosphere is different, and you just have to take it in and roll with it.”
Super Mini
The Super Mini class also consisted of two six-lap races for 12-16 year olds on bikes displacing between 75cc and 150cc. Tonight’s field featured riders from 10 states as well as Canada, England, Brazil, Australia and Finland.
Carson Mumford grabbed the holeshot in Race 1, followed by Mitchell Falk, Casey Keast, Ciaran Naran and Garrett Marchbanks. Falk took over the lead just one corner before the finish line and began to pull away, leaving Mumford to contend with Keast and Marchbanks, the latter moving into third place on lap two.
“It was just a little tricky,” Falk said. “The track was a little slippery, and with getting the holeshot I didn’t really know where everyone else was going. Then we had a downed rider, so we couldn’t really jump things. It got tightened up for sure on the last lap, and I made a few mistakes, but I was able to hold it together and it was just an awesome race. I hope they never take away this race for the amateurs because it is so much fun.”
Keast came through from the left side of Monster Alley to score the holeshot in Race 2, with Marchbanks and Joey Crown battling for second place through the first rhythm section. What happened next was nothing short of spectacular, as an exuberant Marchbanks got out of shape over the third jump in the second rhythm section and swayed to the left, hitting Crown in midair before careening back across the track and crashing off of it. Crown also came up short over the next jump and was landed on by Fortier, which in turn caused more riders to go down and the red flag to be thrown.
Falk had stayed to the left of the melee and pulled into second place before the race was red-flagged, and when Race 2 left the starting gate for the second time, he pulled as big a holeshot as anyone all night, taking the lead with Chase Sexton, Keast, Derek Drake and Marchbanks giving chase.
Marchbanks appeared to be none the worse for wear as he tried to make a pass on Keast in a right-hand turn, only to make mistake and drop behind him again. Meanwhile, Falk’s lead was threatened by Sexton, but Falk managed to hold off the Yamaha rider. Sexton stayed within a bike length of Falk with two laps to go, as the two put 5 seconds’ advantage over the third-place battle between Keast and Marchbanks. Falk never put a wheel wrong for the rest of the race, however, and he claimed the race win and the overall win in the Super Mini class.
“I feel completely awesome,” Falk said. “After that restart…It kind of got everything out of the way, you know, and then [I] just had to do it another time, so I was a bit nervous. But I got the holeshot and was in an even better position. I was just so pumped to finally be able to pull something together, and to go 1-1 here is just amazing.”
Falk said he didn’t feel much pressure in the second race.
“I wasn’t nervous that race,” Falk said. “In the first one I was a bit nervous—those yellow flags got me. But that [second] race I was just able concentrate on myself, and it just feels so great.”
Monster Energy Cup
Sam Boyd Stadium
Las Vegas, Nevada
Results: October 18, 2014
Main Event 1
1. Trey Canard-Hon
2. Justin Hill-KTM
3. Davi Millsaps-Kaw
4. Eli Tomac-Hon
5. Blake Baggett-Suz
6. Justin Barcia-Yam
7. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
8. Ryan Dungey-KTM
9. Dean Wilson-KTM
10. Jake Weimer-Kaw
11. Chad Reed-Kaw
Main Event 2
1. Trey Canard-Hon
2. Justin Hill-KTM
3. Eli Tomac-Hon
4. Davi Millsaps-Kaw
5. Ryan Dungey-KTM
6. Justin Barcia-Yam
7. Jason Anderson-Hus
8. Blake Baggett-Suz
9. Malcolm Stewart-Hon
10. Jake Weimer-Kaw
11. Andrew Short-KTM
Main Event 3
1. Davi Millsaps-Kaw
2. Eli Tomac-Hon
3. Ryan Dungey-KTM
4. Jason Anderson-Hus
5. Malcom Stewart-Hon
6. Jake Weimer-Kaw
7. Justin Brayton-KTM
8. Trey Canard-Hon
9. Brett Metcalfe-Kaw
10. Weston Peick-Yam
Monster Energy Cup Overall
1. Davi Millsaps-Kaw/8 points
2. Eli Tomac-Hon/9
3. Trey Canard-Hon/10
4. Ryan Dungey-KTM/16
5. Malcolm Stewart-Hon/21
6. Cole Seely-Hon/22
7. Justin Hill-KTM/22
8. Jason Anderson-Hus/26
9. Jake Weimer-Kaw/26
10. Justin Barcia-Yam/28
Amateur All-Stars
Race 1
1. Aaron Plessinger-Yam
2. Darian Sanayei-Kaw
3. Benny Bloss-Yam
4. Marshal Weltin-Hon
5. Robbie Wagemen-Yam
6. Ryan Surratt-Yam
7. Chase Marquier-Hon
8. Cody McCulloch-Yam
9. Alexander Frye-KTM
10. Jordon Smith-Hon
11. Zac Commons-Kaw
Race 2
1. Aaron Plessinger-Yam
2. Jordon Smith-Hon
3. Darian Sanayei-Kaw
4. Benny Bloss-Yam
5. Bradley Taft-Yam
6. Jon Ames-Yam
7. Rookie White-Kaw
8. Chase Marquier-Hon
9. Robbie Wageman-Yam
10. Josh Cartwright-Yam
Overall
1. Aaron Plessinger-Yam/2 points
2. Darian Sanayei-Kaw/5
3. Benny Bloss-Yam/7
4. Jordon Smith-Hon/12
5. Robbie Wageman-Yam/14
6. Chase Marquier-Hon/15
7. Ryan Surratt-Yam/17
8. Marshal Weltin-Hon/18
9. Cameron Cannon-Kaw/20
10. Cody McCulloc-Yam/20
Super Mini
Race 1
1. Mitchell Falk-KTM
2. Garrett Marchbanks-Kaw
3. Carson Mumford-Kaw
4. Chase Sexton-Yam
5. Derek Drake-KTM
6. Casey Keast-Yam
7. Carson Brown-KTM
8. Brock Papi-KTM
9. Hannah Hodges-Suz
10. Joey Crown-Kaw
11. Justin Rodbell-KTM
Race 2
1. Mitchell Falk-KTM
2. Chase Sexton-Yam
3. Garrett Marchbanks-Kaw
4. Brock Papi-KTM
5. Carson Mumford-Kaw
6. Derek Drake-KTM
7. Casey Keast-Yam
8. Caleb Gothues-KTM
9. Carson Brown-KTM
10. Justin Rodbell-KTM
Overall
1. Mitchell Falk-KTM/2 points
2. Garrett Marchbanks-Kaw/5
3. Chase Sexton-Yam/6
4. Carson Mumford-Kaw/8
5. Derek Drake-KTM/11
6. Brock Papi-KTM/12
7. Casey Keast-Yam/13
8. Carson Brown-KTM/16
9. Justin Rodbell-KTM/21
10. Hannah Hodges-Suz/22
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