NEW BERLIN, New York - Chase Sexton rode off to a commanding lead and maintained it throughout Moto 2 to score his fourth consecutive overall victory in the Unadilla National. Earlier in the day, he had a seven-moto win streak ended when his closest championship contender Hunter Lawrence edged him for second, but with two Nationals remaining, Sexton is fully in control of his fate.
Sexton holds a 28-point advantage, which is a little more than one full moto.
“I knew a lazy first lap wasn’t going to cut it,” Sexton told Peacock’s Jason Thomas. “I’ve been working on my starts a lot. That was a fun moto. I felt so good at the beginning of the race and sprinted away.”
Lawrence won Moto 1 and for much of the second race, it appeared he would have to settle for a top-five finish. But midway through the race, he found more speed and as the race continued, Lawrence moved into podium contention and finally got around Dylan Ferrandis in the final lap for the runner-up spot. With his 1-2, he earned the same number of points as Sexton.
The gate drop was slower than normal this week for the second 450 moto, which caused issues for a number of riders. Lawrence was one of them.
“Waiting for the gate to drop felt like a lifetime; it felt like 30 seconds before that thing dropped,” Lawrence told Katie Osborne from the podium. “Tough track to pass on. The roost was really gnarly.”
The lost position was critical for Dylan Ferrandis as it denied him his first podium since switching to Phoenix Racing at the beginning of the season. He finished fourth, matching his Fox Raceway result in the season opener.
The loss of those two points elevated Aaron Plessinger to third with a third-place finish in Moto 1 and a fourth in Moto 2.
Jason Anderson finished sixth and third in the two races to round out the top five.
Click here for official 450 results.
Finishing second in Moto 1 and winning Moto 2, Levi Kitchen scored the overall 250 victory in the Unadilla National to give Pro Circuit Kawasaki their 302nd victory and stretch their advantage in the record books.
“It’s amazing; I needed that break,” Kitchen said. “I feel refreshed. Me and Jo (Shimoda) actually went to Loretta’s and hung out a little bit (during the off-week).”
Kitchen earned the holeshot for both motos, but showed patience when pressured.
But Kitchen was running a distant second for much of the Moto 1 until Chance Hymas crashed hard out of the lead after cross rutting on a fast downhill section.
Hymas’ misfortune elevated what would have been a tussle for second. Almost simultaneously, Deegan passed Kitchen for the top spot. Kitchen refused to be pressured into a mistake, knowing he still had an opportunity to win the overall via the tiebreaker.
Deegan held serve on points by winning the first race and finishing second in Moto 2, but was officially scored second. Deegan extended his advantage over second-place, however, as Kitchen leapfrogged Tom Vialle.
Deegan has a 70-point advantage over Kitchen and could clinch the Pro Motocross championship next weekend at Budds Creek MX Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland.
Vialle crashed in Moto 1 and failed to earn points, opening the door for Kitchen to move into second in the standings.
Finishing sixth in Moto 1 and fourth in Moto 2, Jalek Swoll scored the first overall podium for Triumph after coming tantalizingly close a number of times in Monster Energy Supercross competition.
Garrett Marchbanks and Max Anstie tied Swoll in points but finished fourth and fifth overall respectively based on their Moto 2 results.
The points were particularly critical for Marchbanks who entered the weekend 21st in championship behind Dylan Schwartz.
Schwartz finished 14th in Moto 1 to score eight points, but failed to see the checkers in Moto 2.
Click here for official 250 results
In-Race Notes
Heavy rain pounded the track on Friday with the remnants of Hurricane Debby soaking the dirt, but bright sun and virtually no chance of rain on Saturday sets the stage for Round 9 of the 2024 Pro Motocross season.
The surface will be heavy, but raceable as track officials began preparing for the eventuality two weeks ago.
MORE: Why a little rain won’t slow the Unadilla National
Sexton has a full moto advantage over Lawrence while Deegan is greater than a full national ahead of Vialle.
Ken Roczen and Cooper Webb return to action this week at Unadilla. Webb believes a podium is possible but would be thrilled with a top-five after injuring his thumb midway through the Supercross season.
Features
450 Moto 2
Sexton gets an uncharacteristic strong start.
Webb also gets a solid start in his return to racing. He’s second on Lap 1.
On Lap 2, Roczen surges to second. Ferrandis sneaks around Webb to take the final spot on the podium.
Ferrandis rounds out the top three.
Veterans are making noise with Roczen (fourth) and Jason Anderson (fifth) challenging for the top five.
Lawrence got a slow start to run seventh in the first half of the lap and then passed Christian Craig for sixth.
Lawrence climbs to fifth on Lap 3, pushing Webb back to sixth. Between the motos, he said his thumb was already sore.
Ferrandis is on the move on Lap 7. He takes second from Roczen.
Roczen continues to fall as Anderson and Lawrence slip by.
Webb crashes and pulls off the track with his hand at his side.
Problems for Webb 🤯 #ProMotocross #SMX #UnadillaMX pic.twitter.com/BCaLehCG48
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) August 10, 2024
Lawrence continues to run away from the field up front. He has a 14 second lead with eight minutes remaining.
The tightest racing is for second: Ferrandis is a little more than two seconds ahead of Anderson. Lawrence is in the contest as well in fourth.
On Lap 12, Lawrence puts his elbows out and steals third from Anderson.
Sexton dominates for the win.
Lawrence presses Ferrandis hard on the final lap to take second, secure second in the overall and deny the Frenchman his first podium with Phoenix Racing Honda.
Click here for complete 450 Moto 2 results.
250 Moto 2
Second verse same as the first: Kitchen and Ty Masterpool take the early lead. But Masterpool crashes early.
Shimoda moves into second with Deegan two seconds further back in third.
Vialle hopes to bounce back from his Moto 1 crash. He’s fourth.
Swoll rides fifth.
We didn’t see it, but Casey Cochran crashed. He’s being transported to the medical hauler on the back of an ATV.
Chance Hymas was riding 13th but he’s retired. Hymas may be feeling the effects of his Moto 1 crash.
At the halfway point, Kitchen leads Shimoda by 1.4 seconds.
Deegan (third), Vialle (fourth), and Swoll (fifth) round out the top five.
With three minutes remaining, Shimoda crashes from second and is slow to rise. Shimoda is carted off with a sling on his arm.
Deegan, Vialle, and Swoll move up.
Marchbanks is elevated to the final top-five position.
Click here for complete 250 Moto 2 results
450 Moto 1
Plessinger gets the early lead.
In the first couple of turns, Sexton and Lawrence swap the runner-up position. Lawrence has it for the moment.
Lawrence takes his new 2025 bike to the lead.
Anderson rides fourth in the opening laps.
Webb told us he would be over-the-moon with a top five and that is where he rides now.
Justin Cooper moves up to fourth. Anderson falls to fifth and Webb all the way back to eighth.
Sexton twists the throttle as the moto hits the halfway point. He takes the lead, bobbles for a second while he removes a tear-off, and Lawrence gets back by.
Plessinger (third), Cooper (fourth) and Anderson (fifth) remain in the top five.
Ferrandis is just outside the top five in sixth.
Deeper in the field, Webb and Roczen battle for seventh, swapping the position a couple of times. Roczen has it with five minutes remaining.
Up front, Sexton stalks Lawrence as these two have 10 seconds on the field. Lapped riders stall Lawrence but Sexton cannot take advantage.
Once in clear traffic, Lawrence pulls away slightly.
Sexton presses hard on the final lap. He nearly dumps his bike in a tight turn.
Lawrence gives the 2025 Honda its first Motocross win in its first attempt.
Sexton could not take advantage of traffic on the final lap and finished 2.370 seconds back.
Plessinger (third), Cooper (fourth), and Anderson (fifth) round out the top five.
In their returns, Roczen finished seventh and Webb eighth.
Click here for complete 450 Moto 1 results
250 Moto 1
After a two-week break, the field breathes a sigh of relief and take off.
Kitchen gets the holeshot with teammate Masterpool in second.
Vialle crashes on Lap 1. This will cost points.
Hymas blasts past Masterpool for second. Half a lap later, he takes the lead. It appears his practice speed was not a fluke.
Setting the top five early: Hymas leads Kitchen and Max Anstie. Deegan rides fourth with Swoll fifth.
Vialle has not recovered. He rides 38th after making an appearance in the mechanics area.
Marchbanks switched to Pro Circuit Kawasaki beginning this week. He entered 21st in the points, but rides sixth at the moment and should advance a position in SuperMotocross points; his closest competition, Schwartz is 15th.
At the halfway mark, Hymas leads Kitchen by about three seconds.
Anstie picks the wrong line around a lapped rider and Deegan takes third.
Here’s what happened to your leader 🤯
— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) August 10, 2024
Glad to see Chance get up 💪 #ProMotocross #SMX #UnadillaMX pic.twitter.com/xRxzzCESTw
Hymas crashes while holding a lead of almost six seconds. He’s slow to get up.
With two minutes on the clock, Kitchen rides wide and Deegan takes the lead.
Hymas stands under his own power. A replay shows his back wheel kick out of a rut to pitch him from the bike.
As time runs off the clock, Deegan leads but Kitchen won’t let him get away. He’s 1.7 seconds behind.
Anstie rides third with Marchbanks and Shimoda rounding out the top five.
Deegan wins over Kitchen.
Anstie finishes third.
On the final lap, Shimoda got around Marchbanks for fourth.
Vialle finished 22nd and won’t earn any points. Deegan’s stretches his lead by another 25 points.
Click here for complete 250 Moto 1 results
Last Chance Qualifier
450s
Tyler Stepek takes the checkered flag first, but Justin Cokinos makes it interesting and is 2.229 seconds back.
Lorenzo Locurcio and Ayden Shive also advance.
Click here for complete 450 LCQ results
250s
Blake Gardner wins the 250 LCQ to advance into the feature.
Trevor Schmidt was more than nine seconds back in second.
Ashton Arruda and Charlie Heyman also advance.
Click here for complete 250 LCQ results
Qualification
450 Qualification 2
Cooper begins the session where he left off in Qualification 1. He leads halfway through.
Sexton picks up the pace on the final lap and jumps to the top of the board with a lap of 2:11.943.
Cooper (2:12.191) holds on for second with Anderson (2:12.191) rounding out the top three.
Fourth-place Lawrence and Roczen are also in the top five.
Webb lands 10th in this session.
Click here for complete results from 450 Group A Qualification 2
Click here for complete results from the combined qualification sessions
450 Qualification 1
New York native Cooper (2:14.158) posts the fastest lap to impress the local fans. He leads over fellow rookie Lawrence (2:14.736).
Anderson (2:15.427) lands third on the chart.
Meanwhile, Roczen shows there is no rust on him with the fourth-fastest lap.
Points’ leader Sexton rounds out the top five.
Webb winds up seventh.
Click here for complete results from 450 Group A Qualification 1
250 Qualification 2
Hymas is holding onto his fastest time from Qualification 1 - and, in fact, he betters it halfway through the session with a lap of 2:13.773.
Deegan tips over halfway through the session.
Hymas’ speed holds up and he is 1.9 seconds faster than the field in this session. He sweeps qualification.
Masterpool (2:15.654) and Joey Savatgy (2:15.876) also post their fastest laps in this session.
Vialle and Deegan round out the top five.
Click here for complete results from 250 Group B Qualification 2
Click here for complete results of the combined qualification sessions
250 Qualification 1
Hymas shows no ill effects from his High Point crash. He jumps to the top of the board with a lap of 2:15.448.
Masterpool lands second (-8.58 seconds) on the chart with points’ leader Deegan (2:16.382) third.
Vialle and Anstie round out the top five.
Click here for complete results from 250 Group A Qualification 1
More SuperMotocross News
While waiting for the race to begin, check out some of the posts you may have missed:
Hunter Lawrence debuts new 2025 Honda
How Unadilla MX survived Hurricane Debby
Cooper Webb confirms Unadilla for 2024 return
Shane McElrath joins MaddParts.com Kawasaki team
Ken Roczen headlines Germany’s MXoN roster
Unadilla Betting Odds
Drew Adams earns Open Pro title | Claims 250 Pro Sport
Veterans Andrew Short and Mike Brown earn Lynn’s titles
Mike Brown dominates 50+ class through two races
Garrett Marchbanks joins Pro Circuit Kawasaki at Unadilla