With five rounds remaining, Aaron Plessinger became the seventh winner in the 450 division at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and achieved a level of Monster Energy Supercross Series winners that has not been witnessed since 1997.
Plessinger seemed to be the only rider in the field happy to see the mud. He joked with fellow racers and the media before the evening program began, but he admitted to being a little nervous during post-race availability. No one truly knows what will happen in a mud race, and the multitude of issues that affected the other riders in the field could have impacted his race. Plessinger got a solid start, then "stood up on the pegs and leaned back and pinned it."
Plessinger did not get the holeshot but led the field at the end of Lap 1 and never looked back in a race shortened because of conditions. The race was only nine laps long; Plessinger's success will last a lifetime.
Shane McElrath was easily the second strongest rider in the feature. He tiptoed through the mud on the opening lap and completed it in third. In fact, despite the sketchy moments that defined the entire field, McElrath never has a serious issue in the race. He finished 26 seconds behind Plessinger but had a margin of more than a minute on third-place, which switched hands dramatically on the final lap.
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Cooper Webb trailed his principal points rival, Chase Sexton, for most of the race. Webb fell or was mired in mud several times during the evening, and when he completed the first lap in ninth, he was in jeopardy of losing significant ground in the standings. Webb failed to crack the top five until the checkers waved, but as Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia, and Sexton fell by the wayside, Webb slipped in to third. He was as surprised as the remainder of the field.
Surprised might not be the way to describe Roczen's feeling about the last-lap pass that denied him the podium. He protested that Webb completed a jump on a red cross flag as the two went around a downed rider. Webb acknowledged the incident, stating that he was already committed to the maneuver when the flag was employed. AMA (American Motorcycle Association) officials agreed with Webb.
As a result, Roczen was forced to settle for fourth, which was his third consecutive top-five. It was not long ago, however, when he scored three consecutive podiums in Detroit, Arlington, and Daytona, and he was thirsty for champagne after the grueling race. Roczen endured more than most of the competitors; he is racing with an extremely sore shoulder from a practice crash two weeks back.
Barcia is another rider who excels in the mud. He was the fastest qualifier and spent the entire race in the top five, despite a trip or two to the ground. With rain forecast for next week in Philadelphia, he has his sights set on becoming the eighth winner of 2025.
Sexton was set to make up huge ground on Webb this week. He climbed to second at the completion of Lap 5 while Webb languished in sixth, which would have shrunk the points differential to five. Instead, he lost an additional four points and trails the leader by 15. There is still a lot of racing to go, but Sexton cannot afford to lose many more points.
Here are the 450 Supercross results, lap times, and points standings after Round 12 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, ...
