The AMA 2024 Pro Motocross Championships marked a return to action with round nine of the series on the lush rolling hills of Central New York’s iconic Unadilla MX circuit.
After a week filled with rain from Hurricane Debby, racers and fans were greeted with balmy temperatures, abundant sunshine, and perfect track conditions for the Unadilla National, thanks to the proactive efforts of the event organizers 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, championship leader Chase Sexton edged out Australian Hunter Lawrence for Sexton’s fourth consecutive win.
In the 250 class, Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen emerged with his second career victory over championship leader Haiden Deegan (Yamaha).
The premier 450cc class opened its first moto with Aaron Plessinger out front for the holeshot ahead of 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 moved out to a lead of nearly two seconds.
From there the momentum continued to yo-yo between the title combatants, with each possessing a stronger end of the racetrack.
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.
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 Justin Cooper and Jason Anderson rounding out the top five.
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 Cooper Webb, who made his first start of the summer in a return from injury, and Dylan Ferrandis.
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 Frenchman Ferrandis were challenged by Ken Roczen, also making his first start of the summer, who made savvy passes to fight his way up to second.
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 Lawrence following through into fourth.
In the closing stages of the moto, 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.
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.
“I’ve worked on my starts a lot, that was my first holeshot of the summer in race two, and I felt so good at the beginning of the race,” Sexton said.
“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.”
Photo courtesy KTM
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here
RESULTS & STANDINGS:
450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points):
1 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM (2-1 // 47)
2 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda (1-2 // 47)
3 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM (3-4 // 38)
4 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda (6-3 // 36)
5 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki (5-5 // 34)
6 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (4-7 // 33)
7 Ken Roczen, Mattstedt, Germany, Suzuki (7-6 // 31)
8 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna (10-6 // 28)
9 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Husqvarna (9-8 // 27)
10 Grant Harlan, Justin, Texas, KTM (11-10 // 23)
450 Class Championship Standings (Round 9 of 11):
1 Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM – 407 Points
2 Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 379 Points
3 Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 319 Points
4 Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 317 Points
5 Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Kawasaki – 295 Points
6 Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda – 273 Points
7 Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 238 Points
8 Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Qld., Australia, Honda – 210 Points
9 Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Husqvarna – 188 Points
10 Fredrik Noren, Lidköping, Sweden, Kawasaki – 160 Points
250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points):
1 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (2-1 // 47)
2 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (1-2 // 47)
3 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph (6-4 // 34)
4 Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (5-5 // 34)
5 Max Anstie, Newbury, England, Yamaha (3-8 // 34)
6 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS (7-7 // 30)
7 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha (12-6 // 26)
8 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Kawasaki (9-9 // 26)
9 Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (8-10 // 26)
10 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS (10-11 // 23)
250 Class Championship Standings (Round 9 of 11):
1 Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 408 Points
2 Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 338 Points
3 Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 327 Points
4 Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Kawasaki – 289 Points
5 Chance Hymas, Pocatello, Idaho, Honda – 275 Points
6 Ty Masterpool, Paradise, Texas, Kawasaki – 259 Points
7 Pierce Brown, Sandy, Utah, GASGAS – 225 Points
8 Jalek Swoll, Belleview, Fla., Triumph – 221 Points
9 Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS – 204 Points
10 Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Yamaha – 191 Points