Unadilla AMA Pro MX – An illustrated recap

2024 Pro Motocross Championship
Round Nine – Unadilla

The 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship returned to action in the lush rolling hills of Central New York’s iconic Unadilla MX for the ninth round of the eleven-round season.

After a week filled with rain from Hurricane Debby, racers and fans were greeted with balmy temperatures, abundant sunshine, and good track conditions for the ELF Fuels Unadilla National, thanks to the proactive efforts of the event organisers to preserve the racing surface amidst the storm. It provided a fitting setting for Unadilla’s 55th-anniversary celebration, which saw tiebreakers determine the overall winner in each class on a highly competitive day of racing.

In the 450 Class, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider and championship leader Chase Sexton edged out Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence for Sexton’s fourth consecutive win.

In the 250 Class, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen emerged with his second career victory over Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider and championship leader Haiden Deegan.

450 Moto One

The premier class opened its first moto with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine of Aaron Plessinger out front for the holeshot ahead of Hunter Lawrence, aboard a new 2025 Honda CRF450R, and Sexton.

After getting passed by Sexton for second, Lawrence battled back to reclaim the position and continued his push forward, eventually catching and passing Plessinger to grab hold of the lead before the completion of the opening lap.

On the following lap, the KTM team-mates battled for second, with Sexton able to get the better of Plessinger. From there the top three settled in and distanced themselves from the field.

At the halfway point of the moto Sexton was able to erase the deficit to Lawrence and made the pass for the lead. However, the Honda rider took advantage of a faster line in the next section to get back around and reclaim the top spot. Lawrence then pulled away to build a lead of nearly two-seconds. From there the momentum continued to yo-yo between the title combatants. On the final lap, less than a second separated the top two as lapped riders factored into the battle. Sexton showed a wheel, but Lawrence closed the door and never looked back.

Hunter Lawrence captured his second career moto win by 2.3 seconds over Sexton, which ended the points leader’s seven-moto win streak.

Plessinger finished in a distant third, with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson rounding out the top five.

450 Moto One Results

450 Moto Two

The final moto of the afternoon started with Sexton at the head of the pack exiting the first turn, which he carried to the holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb, who made his first start of the summer in a return from injury, and Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis.

Hunter Lawrence found himself well back in 10th, behind many of the fastest racers in the class. The clear track proved to be a huge advantage for Sexton, who was already more than five seconds clear of the field at the completion of the opening lap.

With Sexton well out front, the focus shifted to the battles behind him as Webb and Ferrandis were challenged by Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen, also making his first start of the summer, who made savvy passes to fight his way up to second. Dylan Ferrandis then passed Webb for third and brought Anderson and Lawrence along with him to push Webb out of the top five.

As the moto reached its halfway point Sexton had built a lead of nearly 14 seconds over the field, while just three-seconds separated Roczen in second and Lawrence in fifth.

Ferrandis was able to make a charge on Roczen and move into second. Anderson then closed in and made the pass on Roczen for third, with Hunter Lawrence following through into fourth.

In the closing stages of the moto Hunter Lawrence picked up the pace and was able to make the pass on Anderson for third. He then looked to track down Ferrandis over the final two laps. On the final lap Lawrence was able to take advantage of some lapped riders to slip by Ferrandis and take second with just a few turns to go.

Sexton led wire-to-wire to wrap up his 10th moto win of the season by a margin of 7.1 seconds over Lawrence, with Ferrandis a close third.

450 Moto Two Results

450 Round

With identical moto results, Sexton (2-1) and Lawrence (1-2) finished tied atop the overall standings with the second moto tiebreaker going to Sexton for his fourth straight victory, fifth win of the season, and 11th of his career.

With his late charge in Moto 2, Lawrence was able to prevent any points loss in the championship in a runner-up effort, while Plessinger (3-4) made late passes in the final moto to grab the third and final spot on the podium.

Sexton remains 28 points ahead of Lawrence with two rounds remaining, while Plessinger’s fourth podium finish of the season moved him into third, 88 points behind Sexton.

Chase Sexton – P1

“I’ve worked on my starts a lot, that was my first holeshot of the summer in Moto2, and I felt so good at the beginning of the race. I sprinted away and managed it from there – that was a fun moto! The track felt a lot better to me in that second moto, so I’m excited for the next two to finish out the season.”

Hunter Lawrence – P2

“It was a tough track to pass on and the roost was gnarly. A great first day on the 2025 bike. I would have loved to have the overall, but still a good day [in second]. I feel like a new man [after the schedule break] and now I’m back to being the Hunter I know.”

Aaron Plessinger – P3

”Man, I was so far back on the first lap! It felt like they held the gate for 20 seconds and I almost sat up, then sure enough, they dropped it. I was not ready at all, but it was a hard-fought ride and I just clicked another gear – I felt so good, it was such a good ride. Definitely hard-fought, I could hear the fans and I knew I just had to keep taking over the positions. In the end, we found ourselves on the podium for the weekend.”

Malcolm Stewart – P7

“I had a crash in practice and banged myself up a bit, and then the track was very technical in the motos.  We ended up ninth overall, which we’ll take, and I’m looking forward to moving forward at these last couple.”

Christian Craig – P9

“Unadilla was good for us.  I qualified really good, sixth in the first session and seventh in the final one, so my speed was there. In Moto 1, I fought my way up to ninth and was in the battle, then second moto I made a few too many mistakes early and got shuffled back. All in all, riding was better, and my arm was in a better spot today – things are coming around.“

450 Round Results

450 Championship Points

250 Moto One

The opening 250 moto of the afternoon got underway with Kitchen leading the field to the holeshot ahead of his team-mate Ty Masterpool. Behind them riders jockeyed for position, with the Team Honda HRC machine of Chance Hymas settling into third before going on the attack to pass both Masterpool and Kitchen and move into the lead before the completion of the opening lap.

Not long after, Masterpool went down from third and dropped outside the top 20, which moved Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie into third, just ahead of team-mate Deegan.

The top four remained unchanged through the first half of the moto and pulled away from the rest of the field, with double digits separating Deegan, in fourth, and Triumph Racing’s Jalek Swoll, in fifth.

Back out front, Hymas was able to establish his biggest lead of the moto entering the final 10 minutes, opening a margin of 6.5 seconds on Kitchen, who started to feel pressure from the Yamahas of Anstie and Deegan. Soon, Deegan started to increase his pace, which allowed him to make his way around Anstie for third and give chase to Kitchen. The former team-mates started to engage in a spirited battle when Hymas crashed out of the lead with just under five minutes remaining. Kitchen moved into the lead, with Deegan second and Anstie third. Hymas eventually reentered the race, one lap down.

The battle for the lead intensified again as Deegan was able to take advantage of an inside line to get alongside Kitchen and make the pass. Kitchen attempted to fight back, but Deegan solidified the move and put some distance on the Kawasaki.

Over the final two laps Kitchen got within striking distance, but it wasn’t enough as Deegan stormed to his eighth moto win of the season by 1.5 seconds over Kitchen, with Anstie following in third.

Team Honda HRC’s Jo Shimoda made a late charge to finish fourth, while Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks finished fifth in his first moto with the team.

250 Moto One Results

250 Moto Two

The second moto started the same way as Moto 1, with Kitchen leading the field to the holeshot ahead of Masterpool, who then crashed out of second and dropped deep in the field. Masterpool’s misfortune allowed Shimoda to move up into second, with Deegan in third. The clear track worked heavily into Kitchen’s favor as he was able to move out to a multi-second advantage that he managed for most of the first half of the moto, forcing both Shimoda and Deegan to settle in.

Kitchen’s lead slowly started to shrink as the moto neared its halfway point and soon Shimoda found himself within striking distance. Deegan, meanwhile, lost touch with the lead pair. Back up front, the battle for the lead started to take shape as Shimoda began looking for alternate lines.

Despite being slightly quicker, Shimoda was unable to mount a pass attempt as Kitchen rode well to counter any potential moves. As they started to navigate lapped traffic, it allowed Kitchen to gain some breathing room. As he continued to give pursuit, Shimoda went down with a little more than two minutes to go and was unable to finish. That moved Deegan into second and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle into third.

With no pressure from behind, Kitchen cruised home to the fifth moto win of his career by 15.6 seconds over Deegan. Vialle finished third.

250 Moto Two Results

250 Round

By virtue of their identical moto finishes, Kitchen (2-1) and Deegan (1-2) finished the afternoon tied atop the overall standings, but the second moto tiebreaker went to Kitchen to secure his second career victory and his second win in the past three races.

Deegan maintained his comfortable lead in the championship with a runner-up finish, while Swoll gave Triumph its first ever podium result as a manufacturer in third (6-4).

Deegan’s lead in the championship grew once again and now sits at 70 points over Kitchen, who moved from third to second.

Vialle, who finished 11th overall due to a crash in Moto 1 (22-3), dropped to third and sits 81 points out of the lead. Deegan is now able to clinch the championship at the next round.

Levi Kitchen – P1

“This feels amazing. I needed that break (in the schedule). I feel refreshed. Jo [Shimoda] and I were sending it in that [second] moto, but he went down, which sucks. I hope he’s ok. Two holeshots, this is amazing. I feel so great on the bike. It was a really good day for me.”

Haiden Deegan – P2

“After seeing guys go down around me I realized I have a comfortable points lead [and didn’t need to push]. This is still second place and a really good day for me. Levi [Kitchen] was on it today, so congrats to him.”

Jalek Swoll – P3

“I’m ecstatic. It feels like it’s taken longer than it should [to finish on the podium]. To come out here and ride so good in front of all these fans and on a track like this, it’s awesome. This was long overdue.”

Pierce Brown – P6

“It was an alright day today with sixth overall. My riding was good, I just didn’t execute how I would really like to, but the track was gnarly and I’m happy to come out of this one with the result we managed.”

Julien Beaumer – P9

“It was a good day. Qualifying wasn’t the best, but I turned it around in the motos. In both races I had bad starts, but really good riding. In that second one I made a mistake late in the moto, but came back to ninth, so I’m happy with my day and the progress we were able to make over the three-week break.“

Ryder DiFrancesco – P10

“Unadilla was okay, but my starts were off and I had to come from behind all day. Second moto, I got up inside the top 10 and ended up going down… I just need starts, because everything else seems to be there at this point of the season.”

Tom Vialle – P11

“I had a big crash in the opening lap of the first moto and was last, then had to stop to make some adjustments on the bike, so came back to P22 and that was the best I could do. In the second moto, I started around seventh or eighth and finished the moto third, so of course I am a little bit frustrated, but we will keep fighting across these two races to go.”

250 Round Results

250 Championship Points

Next Up

The 2024 Pro Motocross Championship continues next week at Budds Creek ahead of the Ironman finale on August 24th.  Then we head into the SMX playoffs in across the first two weekends in September ahead of the SMX Final in Las Vegas on September 21.