Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Tom Vialle reclaimed the 250SX East red plate following a third-place finish in the 250SX East/West Showdown at Nashville, putting him in control of the points lead with two rounds remaining in the eastern region.

A convincing third-place result on the podium in the opening Showdown of the year saw Frenchman Vialle take charge of the series in class at Nissan Stadium, building a 13-point advantage. The double MX2 World Champion was fastest in 250SX East qualifying this afternoon and then posted a Heat race victory, before putting in a consistent performance on his way to P3 in the Main Event riding the KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION.

Tom Vialle: "To finish third overall and first on my coast, it was a really good race for me. I tried to stay focused on my own race and had a good pace. The track was pretty sketchy, so you really had to concentrate, and I actually liked it a lot today – I felt like my riding was good all day. Two races to go and we're getting closer to the end! I really look forward to the next two races."

For teammate Julien Beaumer, the 250SX West rookie was a promising fifth-fastest in qualifying, but had to transfer through to the Main Event via P1 in the LCQ, and then he overcame further adversity to claim ninth tonight. It was a result that saw him maintain sixth in the point standings while continuing to gain important race mileage in his first-career Showdown appearance.

Julien Beaumer: "It was a pretty good night here in Nashville. I made it hard on myself by going through the LCQ and then the Main Event was tough, obviously not having the best gate pick. I got off to a decent start, but then got pushed really far out and was a long way back. I made a good charge up to ninth, and I am happy with my riding tonight, so I'm going to go back to work and get ready for Denver."

Unfortunately for defending 450SX Champion Chase Sexton, after qualifying fourth and finishing third in Heat 1 equipped with his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider was ruled of contention with a heavy crash on lap five of the Main Event. He has since been cleared of any major injury after being evaluated and intends to race-on at the Philadelphia round next Saturday.

Chase Sexton: "Crashed out tonight. A stone cracked my throttle body and the throttle got stuck off of that single-single, which ended my night. Bummer, but nothing's broken, and we'll bounce back in Philadelphia."

Next Race: April 27 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Results 450SX Class – Nashville
1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda
2. Eli Tomac (USA), Yamaha
3. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha
5. Justin Barcia (USA), GASGAS
9. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna
DNF. Chase Sexton (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Standings 450SX Class 2024 after 14 of 17 rounds
1. Jett Lawrence, 286 points
2. Cooper Webb, 281
3. Eli Tomac, 253
4. Chase Sexton, 246
7. Aaron Plessinger, 198
9. Justin Barcia, 166
11. Malcolm Stewart, 155

Results 250SX East/West Showdown Class – Nashville
1. RJ Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna
2. Jo Shimoda (JPN), Honda
3. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
9. Julien Beaumer (USA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
11. Pierce Brown (USA), GASGAS
15. Casey Cochran (USA), Husqvarna
19. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), GASGAS

Standings 250SX East Class 2024 after 7 of 9 rounds
1. Tom Vialle, 136 points
2. Haiden Deegan, 123
3. Cameron McAdoo, 120
4. Pierce Brown, 116
24. Casey Cochran, 14

Standings 250SX West Class 2024 after 8 of 10 rounds
1. RJ Hampshire, 166 points
2. Levi Kitchen, 164
3. Jordon Smith, 148
6. Julien Beaumer, 106
12. Ryder DiFrancesco, 68

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has re-signed fan favorite Aaron Plessinger for the 2025 SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) season, which will continue to include the AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross Championships ahead of the SMX Finals Series.

At 28 years of age, Plessinger is currently in the prime of his premier class career, to remain equipped with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into next year and to continue the rapid progression that he and the team had achieved in 450SX this season, prior to him being injured in Round 13 at Foxborough.

'The Cowboy' has been in spectacular form during 2024, holding the red plate for multiple rounds after picking up his first-career 450SX victory in San Diego, and then going on to claim additional podium finishes at the Anaheim 2 Triple Crown and in Arlington. He will unfortunately miss the final four rounds of Supercross with a fractured elbow, but is expecting to be READY TO RACE when the gates drop on the AMA Pro Motocross Championship in Pala, California, on May 25th.

Plessinger first joined Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2022, gaining momentum in 2023 by finishing third in the final 450MX standings and fifth position in the inaugural 450SMX Championship, prior to his breakout campaign this year.

Aaron Plessinger: "I'm really excited to be staying with Red Bull KTM through 2025. It is an awesome team and I think we're going to do some big things together in the future – even bigger and better than what we've achieved so far. I couldn't be more stoked to be staying within this family and building upon where we're at, the level that we have been able to reach this season. For this year we made some major changes in the pre-season and really haven't changed the bike at all since, which has really, really worked out in our favor. I've won my first Supercross Main Event, have gotten three podiums in total, and something's clicked for us this year. This is the most enjoyment I've had in my entire 450 career and I'm just enjoying the ride, which is rare, and I'm very fortunate. I'm stoked to be back for 2025, so hope we keep progressing and I will be doing my best to perform to the level that we aim to once I am able to line up again outdoors. I'll keep riding my heart out when I'm back from injury and am really blessed to be staying with the crew."

Ian Harrison – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: "We are really pleased to have Aaron back on the team for 2025 – he is an asset to our team from so many different aspects, from his personality to his riding, and his results. Since joining our team in 2021 he has continued his progression each year and this 2024 season we have had our best yet with him. Once he returns, we hope to continue this momentum and experience with the team for the rest of the year and into 2025. It is a pleasure to have him on our team and I look forward to next year with him. He's not only good for himself, but he’s good for the other riders too, as well as our team morale, mechanics, and everybody. He is a great person and a real asset to the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team."

Roger De Coster – Director of Motorsports, North America: "I'm really happy that we were able to extend Aaron’s contract and we are really looking forward to ending this year strong in Pro Motocross before continuing into the 2025 season with him. He is fun to work with, he is great for the team, he’s good for other riders, and he’s good for the crew. We are very happy to have him."

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Aaron Plessinger will miss the final four rounds of the 2024 AMA Supercross Championship, after evaluations this week confirmed he sustained a fractured elbow at Round 13 in Foxborough last Saturday.

Plessinger was sidelined from the Massachusetts race following a crash in the opening qualifying session. The impact resulted in a fracture of the proximal ulna bone in the elbow region of his arm, which will require an anticipated recovery time of 4-6 weeks.

Without having to undergo surgery, Plessinger will be targeting a return to competition at Fox Raceway's 2024 Pro Motocross Championship season-opener in Pala, California, on Saturday, May 25th. That race also marks the second stage of the combined SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) series.

Aaron Plessinger: "I'm really bummed to not be able to finish out the full Supercross season, given I was having my best 450 season yet. Your elbow is just one of those areas of your body that takes a lot of impact when you ride, so I need to do the right thing and let it heal properly with a realistic goal to be back in time for the start of the Pro Motocross series. The good thing is there is no ligament damage, so healing should hopefully be short and sweet. It’s hard to be negative when I’m lucky enough to work with a great team who fully support healing properly, so we should all be back together getting ready for an early start on outdoor preparations in a few weeks' time."

Ian Harrison – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: "Aaron started the season out so well with a race win and multiple podiums and we are just really bummed for him. He's such a great attribute to our team and we have loved watching his growth over the past few seasons, ultimately culminating in his best 450SX season yet. But we all know that accidents happen and this is just a part of racing. The vibe in our semi is never the same without The Cowboy around, but the team will rally together and finish out the Supercross season strong knowing we’ll have Aaron back lifting everyone’s spirits come time for Pro Motocross."