The second-to-last round of the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is going down today at Budds Creek. It’s been a wild year so far in the 250 Class, with eighth different moto winners already, but the one steady force this season has been Aaron Plessinger. The Star Yamaha rider will be expected to wrap up his first outdoor championship today.

Check back throughout the day for recaps and highlights from what goes down in the 250 Class.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP PICTURE

Aaron Plessinger enters today with a massive 78-point lead over Alex Martin. Odds are that he’ll leave the day with a #1 plate.

A lot would have to happen for Martin to stay in the hunt. After the first moto of the day, a maximum of 75 points will be available for the remaining motos.  As long as Plessinger maintains a lead of at least 75 points at the end of the moto, which he can do by simply finishing ahead of Martin, he’ll clinch the championship — though, technically, it will be unofficial until after Moto 2 has finished and the protest period has concluded.

Even if Martin cuts the gap to less than 75 points after the first moto, he would then need to slash it even further — under 50 points — after the second moto. Otherwise the day will end with a championship presentation.

QUALIFYING

For the sixth time this season, the fastest qualifier in the 250 Class was Justin Cooper. It’s been an up-and-down season for the rookie, but qualifying has repeatedly been a high point for him. And despite some recent struggles — he scored 12-6 moto finishes last weekend — he’s still third in the point standings.

Cooper wasn’t the only Star Yamaha rider setting a fast time on the course. Dylan Ferrandis, who is coming off a 1-1 sweep at Unadilla, qualified second, and Colt Nichols and Aaron Plessinger also finished inside the top five.

The temperature in Mechanicsville has been rising throughout the morning and it’s gotten pretty hot. There’s also the potential for some rain later this afternoon.

250 Combined Qualifying Results
1. Justin Cooper, 2:04.810
2. Dylan Ferrandis, 2:05.055
3. RJ Hampshire, 2:05.490
4. Colt Nichols, 2:05.623
5. Aaron Plessinger, 2:05.687
6. Chase Sexton, 2:05.718
7. Joey Savatgy, 2:05.820
8. Alex Martin, 2:06.187
9. Austin Forkner, 2:06.658
10. Jordon Smith, 2:06.864
11. Shane McElrath, 2:07.498
12. Michael Mosiman, 2:08.442
13. Jordan Bailey, 2:08.651
14. Enzo Lopes, 2:08.818
15. Mitchell Harrison, 2:09.202
16. Ryan Sipes, 2:09.460
17. Sean Cantrell, 2:09.467
18. Jimmy Decotis, 2:09.520
19. Cameron McAdoo, 2:09.543
20. Mitchell Falk, 2:09.675
Full Results

Aaron Plessinger didn’t have to wait long to clinch the title. (Photo: Matt Rice)

MOTO 1

The start of Moto 1 went about as well as Aaron Plessinger could have hoped for. He took the holeshot ahead of RJ Hampshire and Mitchell Harrison, while poor starts left Alex Martin and Dylan Ferrandis outside the top 10 and a crash put Justin Cooper even further back. Hampshire opened up a gap on Harrison and the rest of the field, but Plessinger opened up his own gap on on Hampshire. Once he got past Harrison, Austin Forkner settled into third place behind Plessinger and Hampshire.

While Plessinger had no trouble stretching out his lead, Martin struggled to claw his way through the field. After 10 laps, Plessinger had built a nine-second lead and Martin was still back in 11th. With less than five minutes left on the countdown clock at that point, it was clear the series wouldn’t have to wait much longer to crown its champion.

For the ninth time this season, Plessinger grabbed the moto win, mathematically clinching the 250 Class championship in the process. Hampshire held on to finish second, with Forkner in third. Harrison took fourth place for the third straight moto, and Dylan Ferrandis rounded out the top five after making a last-lap pass on Jordon Smith.

Early in the race, a new name was near the front: Mitchell Falk. The Loretta Lynn’s graduate is making his professional debut with Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM this weekend, and he made an immediate impact. Falk was running inside the top five early before going down and losing several positions. He ended up 18th.

250 Moto 1 Results
1. Aaron Plessinger
2. RJ Hampshire
3. Austin Forkner
4. Mitchell Harrison
5. Dylan Ferrandis
6. Jordon Smith
7. Chase Sexton
8. Michael Mosiman
9. Shane McElrath
10. Alex Martin
11. Joey Savatgy
12. Sean Cantrell
13. Enzo Lopes
14. Justin Cooper
15. Colt Nichols
16. Hayden Mellross
17. Cameron McAdoo
18. Mitchell Falk
19. Dakota Alix
20. Ryan Sipes
Full Results

MOTO 1 EXTENDED RECAP

MOTO 1 HIGHLIGHT: PLESSINGER TAKES THE HOLESHOT

MOTO 1 HIGHLIGHT: FALK GOES DOWN IN PRO DEBUT

MOTO 2

With the championship already secure, it was a pressure-free moto for Aaron Plessinger. But it also turned into a strange moto for the new 250 Class champion. For the second time today, Plessinger took the holeshot and led the opening laps of the race, but after the first 10 minutes, it was a completely different story. He was passed by a few riders — first losing the lead to RJ Hampshire, then giving up second place to Chase Sexton, who had been in a back-and-forth battle with Austin Forkner earlier in the race — and then crashed all by himself to lose a few more positions. WIth 10 minutes to go, Plessinger was all the way back in 10th place.

Plessinger’s misfortune provided a golden opportunity for the rest of the field though, particularly for the GEICO Honda duo of Hampshire and Sexton. After getting past Plessinger, the teammates put a large gap on the rest of the field. Behind them, Forkner and Mitchell Harrison engaged in a back-and-forth battle for third. Toward the end of the race, Harrison made a pass stick as Forkner went off-track. It took Forkner a little while to get back onto the track, causing him to lose several positions.

Up front though, Hampshire never looked back after taking the lead. He finished ahead of Sexton to score the first moto win of his career and, with 2-1 finishes for the day, the first overall win of his career as well. Hampshire is the ninth different rider to win a moto in the 250 Class this season.

It was a career day for a pair of GEICO Honda riders. (Photo: Matt Rice)

Cooper ended the race in third place thanks to late passes of Alex Martin and Harrison, giving him his fifth moto podium of the season. Martin took fourth after passing Harrison on the final lap. Although Harrison has his fourth straight top-five finish, he was knocked off the day’s overall podium after losing those positions late in the race. Instead, Sexton (7-2) and Plessinger (1-11) narrowly edged out Harrison (4-5) for the two podium spots behind Hampshire.

After the moto, Plessinger was officially presented with the #1 plate in honor of being the new 250 Class champion.

250 Moto 2 Results
1. RJ Hampshire
2. Chase Sexton
3. Justin Cooper
4. Alex Martin
5. Mitchell Harrison
6. Shane McElrath
7. Austin Forkner
8. Colt Nichols
9. Michael Mosiman
10. Dylan Ferrandis
11. Aaron Plessinger
12. Cameron McAdoo
13. Enzo Lopes
14. Jimmy Decotis
15. Hayden Mellross
16. Joey Savatgy
17. Mitchell Falk
18. Challen Tennant
19. Dakota Alix
20. Luke Renzland
…
35. Sean Cantrell (DNF)
36. Jordon Smith (DNF)
Full Results

MOTO 2 EXTENDED RECAP

MOTO 2 HIGHLIGHT: HAMPSHIRE TAKES OVER LEAD

MOTO 2 HIGHLIGHT: PLESSINGER CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTATION

250 OVERALL RESULTS

1. RJ Hampshire (2-1)
2. Chase Sexton (7-2)
3. Aaron Plessinger (1-11)
4. Mitchell Harrison (4-5)
5. Austin Forkner (3-7)
6. Alex Martin (10-4)
7. Justin Cooper (14-3)
8. Shane McElrath (9-6)
9. Dylan Ferrandis (5-10)
10. Michael Mosiman (8-9)
11. Colt Nichols (15-8)
12. Enzo Lopes (13-13)
13. Joey Savatgy (11-16)
14. Jordon Smith (6-36)
15. Cameron McAdoo (17-12)
16. Hayden Mellross (16-15)
17. Sean Cantrell (12-35)
18. Jimmy Decotis (34-14)
19. Mitchell Falk (18-17)
20. Dakota Alix (19-19)

Aaron Plessinger got to celebrate his first outdoor championship. (Photo: Matt Rice)

250 POINT STANDINGS

1. Aaron Plessinger, 450
2. Alex Martin, 366
3. Justin Cooper, 318
4. Shane McElrath, 305
5. RJ Hampshire, 299
6. Chase Sexton, 287
7. Austin Forkner, 284
8. Dylan Ferrandis, 281
9. Joey Savatgy, 262
10. Jordon Smith, 259

(Story from ProMotocross.com)