Chase Sexton and Hunter Lawrence scored the same points at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York, but with only two rounds remaining, Sexton’s path to the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship is getting smoother.
Sexton got a better-than-average start in Moto 1 and was in contention from Lap 1. At that time, he trailed Lawrence and teammate Aaron Plessinger, but he made short work of AP and had Lawrence in sight as he moved into the runner-up position the next time around the track. Sexton briefly took the lead during the middle of the race but had to settle for second at the checkers.
Sexton jumped out to a commanding lead in Moto 2 and was as much as 14.696 seconds ahead of the field on Lap 8. Sexton won the second moto and took the overall via the tiebreaker, earning 47 points.
Click here for in-race updates and a recap from Unadilla
Lawrence gave the new Honda 2025 450 CFR a win in its maiden voyage in the Pro Motocross Series, and he had a shot at sweeping the weekend. A long gate drop frustrated him and the other competitors and cost Lawrence momentum. After leading flag-to-flag in Moto 1, Lawrence started the second feature sixth, and it took the entire race to get into the runner-up spot. Lawrence passed Dylan Ferrandis for second on the last lap to match Sexton in the points earned.
This solid run for Lawrence came one week after Honda failed to podium in a Pro Motocross race for the first time since 2020.
Unfortunately, Lawrence needed to gain ground and not simply hold serve. Lawrence is 28 points behind Sexton entering Budds Creek next week and needs the points leader to finish with an average of fifth or worse if Lawrence sweeps the motos.
Plessinger earned the holeshot for Moto 1 before getting passed on Lap 1 by Lawrence. After losing another spot to Sexton, he remained the best of class and finished third. A fourth-place finish in Moto 2 placed him third on the chart.
Ferrandis’ lost position on the final lap of Moto 1 cost two points and his first podium with Phoenix Racing Honda since joining them at the start of the Monster Energy Supercross season. Ferrandis also came close in the Pro Motocross season opener with a fourth-place finish at Fox Raceway in Pala, California.
Jason Anderson has been coming on strong in recent weeks, and with finishes of fifth in both motos, he finished fifth overall. This is his fourth consecutive top-five of 2024.
In his first race back since suffering a leg injury, Ken Roczen finished seventh and sixth in the motos and was scored seventh overall. He won’t return to the 450 division until the SuperMotocross World Championship.
Cooper Webb also returned to action this week and had a strong showing in Moto 1 with an eighth-place finish. A crash in Moto 2 sent him to the hauler early and he failed to earn any points. He was credited with 15th overall.
Here are the 450 Motocross results and points standings after Round 9 in Unadilla, New York:
Results
Click here for the official 450 results from Unadilla.
Moto 1
Results
Lap Chart
Individual Lap Times
Fastest Segment Times
Moto 2
Results
Lap Chart
Individual Lap Times
Fastest Segment Times
Pro Motocross Rider Points
SuperMotocross Rider Points
Here is the finishing order of Round 9 in Unadilla (points earners):
1. Chase Sexton, 2 - 1 (47)
2. Hunter Lawrence, 1 - 2 (47)
3. Aaron Plessinger, 3 - 4 (38)
4. Dylan Ferrandis, 6 - 3 (36)
5. Jason Anderson, 5 - 5 (34)
6. Justin Cooper, 4 - 7 (33)
7. Ken Roczen, 7 - 6 (31)
8. Christian Craig, 9 - 8 (27)
9. Malcolm Stewart, 10 - 9 (25)
10. Grant Harlan, 11 - 10 (23)
11. Freddie Noren, 12 - 11 (21)
12. Harri Kullas, 15 - 12 (17)
13. Phillip Nicoletti, 13 - 15 (16)
14. Shane McElrath, 16 - 13 (15)
15. Cooper Webb, 8 - 35 (14)
16. Romain Pape, 19 - 16 (9)
17. Colt Nichols, 23 - 14 (8)
18. Marshal Weltin, 14 - 38 (8)
19. Kyle Chisholm, 22 - 17 (5)
20. Henry Jacobi, 17 - 40 (5)
21. Jeremy Hand, 24 - 18 (4)
22. Jerry Robin, 18 - 37 (4)
23. Anthony Rodriguez, 27 - 19 (3)
24. Lorenzo Locurcio, 28 - 20 (2)
25. Derek Kelley, 20 - 36 (2)
26. Cullin Park, 25 - 21 (1)
27. Bryce Shelly, 21 - 22 (1)
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