pretty hard in the first turn,
so I was back there a ways,"
Pretscherer said. "I had to
make a lot of passes, yeah,
I think the first 35 minutes
[and] I really struggled to make
passes. I got up to second and
kept pushing but didn't really
do anything crazy. The main
goal this weekend was to wrap
up the championship."
That's because if the cham-
pionship went to the final
round next month, Pretscherer
would need to travel a lot,
which would affect his respon-
sibilities in the SCORE Baja
1000 on the southernmost
part of the Baja Peninsula.
The new champion fin-
ished 24 seconds behind
Zeller and seven seconds
ahead of Simpson, the
three putting in fast enough
adjusted times to finish third,
fourth and fifth overall, respec-
tively.
Aeck earned third in Pro and
sixth overall, ahead of Zip-Ty
Racing Husqvarna's Pro II
standout Dustyn Davis; Davis'
teammate Brennen Watson,
who won 4-Stroke A (and the
A overall); Mateo Oliveira; and
GasGas-support rider Lane
Lorenzo (fifth Pro II).
SLR Honda's Mikayla
Nielsen put in another winning
ride in Pro Women to go into
the final round with a 20-point
cushion over Norman Racing
Husqvarna rider Ava Silvestri.
Two losses to Silvestri this
season prevented Nielsen
from wrapping up her fourth
consecutive number one plate
with a round to go.
ROUND 9 / OCTOBER 24-25, 2026
HONOLULU HILLS / TAFT, CALIFORNIA
OFF-ROAD I AMA NATIONAL GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP
P76
Mikayla Nielsen's
Pro Women win puts
her in a comfortable
20-point lead over
Ava Silvestri, the
day's runner-up,
heading into next
month's finale.
