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ROUND 9 / AUGUST 10, 2024 UNADILLA MOTOCROSS / NEW BERLIN, NEW YORK MOTOCROSS I AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP / MONSTER ENERGY SMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P70 Dylan Ferrandis had his best race of the year with a third in moto two but narrowly missed out on an overall podium. Anderson strung together a pair of fifths to take fifth overall, just ahead of Cooper's 4-7 for sixth. Ken Roczen returned to action and finished seventh in front of the two Husqvarnas of Christian Craig and Malcolm Stewart. Grant Harlan rounded out the top 10. 250MX Levi Kitchen got back to his winning ways as he claimed the day's overall win for only the second time of his career. The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider took off early in moto one but settled into second once the day's fastest qualifier, Chance Hymas, got to the lead on the opening lap. Kitchen regained the lead mo- mentarily after Hymas' late-race crash but was later overtaken by a charging Haiden Deegan. Kitchen put himself back up front in moto two where he seconds. A poor start in moto two made him fight to the front, logging a fourth in the final few laps after battling Jason Anderson. The fourth-place fin- ish saved his overall result for the day and put him on the box in third. Plessinger's finished no worse than fifth in the last nine motos and is third in the cham- pionship standings, just two points ahead of fourth-placed Justin Cooper. "I was just pushing to get whatever position I could," Plessinger said. "I started click- ing off lap after lap after lap, and it was good just coming through the pack. I was like, 'Man, I think I can make this push.' I had some good lines, and on that last lap, I didn't know where I was going to get him [Anderson], but he came up on a lapper and took the inside line on one of the dropdowns. I knew what line I was going to use, and I pinned it up. We made contact, and I got around him, and I knew I had to sprint to the finish." finishes so far—was let go from the Twisted Tea H.E.P. Suzuki team. He got a ride with the Madd Parts Kawasaki Team and went 16-13 for 14th overall. Colt Nichols joined the series for the first time at Unadilla while debuting on the Twisted Tea H.E.P. Suzuki. He went 23-14 for 17th overall. Nichols had already signed on with the team before McElrath's departure. NO TEAM USA ANNOUNCEMENT YET Traditionally, the Unadilla National is when the AMA announces the racers who will make up the U.S. Team for the upcoming Motocross of Nations, but not this year. How- ever, the AMA says it has a solid team in mind, but is still waiting confirmation from the riders. This year's MXoN will be held in the UK at Matterley Basin on October 4-6. NO ADAMS Another Unadilla tradition is where the top amateur riders coming out of Loretta Lynn's make their pro de- buts, especially the Nicky Hayden AMA Motocross Horizon Award winner. This year, Drew Adams was the Nicky Hayden award recipient but did not compete at Unadilla. Instead, he raced in Canada, where he is battling for a championship there. Adams is expected to make his U.S. debut at the final round in Indiana for the Ironman National. Briefly... 2024 Unadilla Pro Motocross Video Highlights