Image: Octopi Media.

Racing to a podium result in Salt Lake City was a satisfying way to end the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship for Aaron Plessinger, his decision to return with just a single race remaining proving to be the right one.

Effects from a practice crash at East Rutherford ruled Plessinger out of the 15th and 16th rounds of the season, before he opted to make a popular comeback for the finals at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Plessinger qualified seventh fastest and recovered to P9 in heat two after leading and then going down. Later, the number seven was able to methodically work his way forward in the main event, taking the checkered flag in P2 to complete what has been a convincing Supercross campaign.

“I spent two or three weeks sitting on the couch and I figured I was done with that,” Plessinger told MotoOnline. “Got back on the bike and I was really, really sore at first, but yeah I figured I would come out here and give the fans a show. Especially with Eli [Tomac] getting hurt in Denver, Coop [Cooper Webb] and Justin [Barcia] getting hurt in Nashville, they were dropping like flies.

“I felt like I owed it to the fans to get out here and make it a show. And my team too, to get back out here and not having many dudes on the track is a real kick in the stomach when you spend all of this time and effort to get everybody where they need to be. I felt like I owed it to them to get out here and cap the season off and send it into the outdoors with some momentum.”

Plessinger concluded the 450SX season seventh in the standings, having missed the opportunity to score points at East Rutherford, Nashville and Denver. The SLC finals marked his best result in the 2023 campaign, with the 450 SX-F Factory Edition rider also standing on the podium at Tampa, where he was third.

“I can take a lot away from this season, how I was riding before the crash in New Jersey was really good,” he added. “I led a lot of laps this year, didn’t win a race, but I got second, I got third, I got fourth, I probably got fifth somewhere around there, I got sixth… [laughs].

“Nah, I like this season a lot, it was definitely hard, but it gives you character, and hard seasons make you a better person, I think. I’m cool with it, I’m happy with it and I’m already looking to next year, looking forward to the SMX rounds and obviously looking forward to outdoors.”

With the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship now complete, attention now shifts to the Pro Motocross Championship, which commences on 27 May at Fox Raceway.