Cycle News

IIIMY OWN RACE: 7 AARON PLESSINGER 16TH 450SX "I felt good in prac ce, flowing well," said Aaron Plessinger of his night. "In the end, the dirt was a lot differ- ent down here than what I thought it would be. I thought there would be a lot more ruts. I didn't get great starts, which cost me. And then me and the whoops weren't ge ng along much to- day, and I ended up going down there. When I got up, I was staying at pace with the guys at the front. I know the speed is there. I just need to put myself in a good posi on from the start." 6 JEREMY MARTIN 3RD 250SX EAST In his first supercross since 2018 (due to a broken back suffered during the na onals that summer), Jeremy Mar n qualified first during day me qualifying and finished a solid third in the main event. "I'm just excited to get a podium," Mar n said. "I mean, I failed to qualify my first two years in a row at the first round, and I remember Bobby [Regan, owner of the Star Racing team Mar n raced for at the me] telling me, 'Boy, don't even bother coming back to the truck.' So, yeah, I was the fastest quali- fier, and I wanted to win, but just ge ng the podium was nice for round one." was really fast because the inside kept getting a big hook in it. It just worked out at the right time. Right spot, right time." After seeing Tomac's line through the sand, Cianciarulo tried to follow Tomac through on the following lap, only to lose a ton of time. Things were exasperated only a few laps later when Cianciarulo went down in the whoops and then got his mo- torcycle hung up, off the track, on track markers. Cianciarulo got back going in 10th, hand- ing second on the track to Webb, who had been pulling Roczen with him toward the front for most of the race. Roczen overcame a fall earlier in the race when he washed out the front end after just having passed Stewart for third. Roczen passed Stewart back a few laps later to take the final podium spot. SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 7 / FEBRUARY 15, 2020 RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM / TAMPA, FLORIDA P60 James Stewart, along with his son, made his first public appearance in a long time at the Tampa Supercross, a "home" race for the former champ. a new appreciation for racing. "It's been a long time to be back up here [on the podium]," Martin said. "I didn't expect to be fastest qualifier. I was hoping to be top-five, honestly, and the next thing I knew, I was on the top of the board. I was like, 'Dang,' you know? And I was sitting on the line before the main, and I was like, 'Dude, you had a job last year at this time working at your buddy's dealer- ship!' So, for me, it was just cool to be back doing what I love, and I just have a new, really massive appre- ciation for it. I thought I appreciated racing in the past, but I'm truly lucky to be here, and I just look forward to this second chance." ARENACROSS PRESENCE Having dominated the early part of the 2020 AMA Arenacross series, Phoenix Racing's Kyle Peters and Jace Owen showed up for the 250SX East opener and rode within the top 10 for much of the day. Peters finished seventh in the main event, while Owen settled for 11th following a strong first half of the race. Briefly...

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