2024 Unadilla Motocross Photo Gallery

2024 Unadilla Motocross Recap

Rut-row.

A rutted up track - fun for some hazardous for others - highlighted Round 9 of the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship series on Saturday at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, NY.

Racers escaped a potential mudder thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Debbie which died off around 6 p.m. Friday leading to the track drying out the next morning. Did you see all that green? Where the grass grows. All up and down the sides of the track made for a picturesque setting as the title contenders for this year's championship in both classes continued to prove their excellence.

In the 450 class, Chase Sexton and Hunter Lawrence, first and second in the standings, respectively, battled for the overall. In Moto 1, Lawrence, debuting a 2025 model Honda, blitzed by Aaron Plessinger, who grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot, for the lead after four minutes showing what his latest factory ride could accomplish. Ten minutes later Sexton pulled alongside, passed for the lead and abruptly gave it back to Lawrence. Another 10 minutes passed before Sexton would make a go if it, but again, was denied the lead and the two cat and moused all the way to the checkers, Lawrence crossing first ending Sexton's Moto win streak at seven.

Moto 2 was a totally different race as Sexton grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot and checked out. Gone. Lawrence got a rough start outside the Top 5 and battled his way to the front to limit the points damage. He got into third after passing Jason Anderson with less than a minute left and on the last lap caught Dylan Ferrandis (6-3). Sexton (2-1) and Lawrence (1-2) tied in points with Sexton taking the overall victory and maintaining a 28-point lead over Lawrence with two rounds to go.

"I knew Ken and those guys were coming back so I knew my lazy first lap wasn't going to cut it, (so) I worked on my starts a lot," Sexton said of his history of starting slow and finishing strong. "That was a fun Moto. I felt so good at the beginning of the race I just sprinted away and managed it from there."

Ferrandis' third in Moto 2 was his best finish of the year and he narrowly missed out on an overall podium in third to Plessinger (3-4), who now resides in third-place in the standings, two points in front of Justin Cooper (4-7), who finished sixth overall. Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb returned to action for the first time this Outdoor season since nursing Supercross injuries with mixed results. Roczen raced up front for a time in Moto 2 but ultimately slid back to sixth but finished seventh overall on a (7-6) day. Webb started second in Moto 2 but had a hard crash and did not finish. His eighth in Moto 1 gave him 15th overall.

In the 250 class, outside a season-ending crash, Haiden Deegan has all but wrapped up the Championship. He and Levi Kitchen traded Moto wins and second-place finishes with Kitchen taking the overall on the tie-breaker.

Both got some help from others hitting the deck hard, however. Chance Hymas burst into the lead in Moto 1 after quickly getting by Kitchen on the first lap and rode untouchable. With less than six minutes on the clock, he swapped out, married the ground and his jealous dirt bike dealt him a body blow finally coming to rest on top of him like a pathological lover. Hymas got back on the saddle several minutes later but called it a race and his attempt at racing Moto 2 ultimately proved futile.

That crash put Kitchen in the lead with Deegan behind him. Kitchen looked good for the long haul until Deegan inexplicably slipped into the lead with about two and half minutes left. Moto 1 to Deegan. In Moto 2 Kitchen resembled Sexton or maybe the other way around since Kitchen raced first. He grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot and checked-out until Jo Shimoda, in second, began chipping away at the lead. Sometimes two seconds back, sometimes less than a second the race had a feel of going to the wire with perhaps Shimoda making a blanket pass like he's done in the past. But with about three minutes left Shimoda (4-34) tipped over in a corner but hit hard with a lengthy drop off from the track to the ground. With legs writhing in pain, his march to the front ended and he was carted away with his left arm in a sling. Deegan moved into second after Shimoda's crash but Kitchen took an easy won and the overall on the tie-breaker.

"It feels amazing I needed that break. I feel refreshed," Kitchen said who had a rough outing the last time out at Washougal, his home track. "Two Holeshots today. Two-one for the overall. That was a really good day for me."

Kitchen moves into second-place in the standings after Tom Vialle went down on the first lap of Moto 1 resulting in no points. Deegan carries a 70 point lead to Budds Creek on Saturday and he can wrap up the 250 class Championship if he adds five points to his lead over Kitchen after Moto 1.

Elsewhere, Jalek Swoll squeezed out a third overall after a (6-4) day putting Triumph on the box for the first time. He took the tie-breaker over Garrett Marchbanks (5-5) and Max Anstie (3-8). Vialle (22-3) finished 11th overall.

Will a Champion be crowned at Budds Creek? Tune in Saturday for Round 10.