Jett Lawrence was the fastest qualifier, won both holeshots and led every lap of Round 9 of the Pro Motocross season, Round 26 of SuperMotocross, and mathematically clinched the 2023 championship at Unadilla MX Park in New Berlin, New York. Given his domination of the series, it was the perfect punctuation mark to his first 450 title.
Lawrence experienced a little pressure in the first moto. Chase Sexton managed to get alongside Lawrence briefly in a tight turn, but when he realized he could not complete the pass without crashing his teammate, he fell back. Dylan Ferrandis also made a determined charge in that moto and closed to within two seconds on the final lap as Lawrence struggled to navigate lapped traffic. The second moto was not quite as dramatic with Lawrence riding away to a nine-second lead.
Lawrence needed a 100-advantage to clinch the championship; he left Unadilla at +103.
Moto 1 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Times
Moto 2 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Times
Consolation Race
Sexton and Ferrandis each earned 42 points for finishing second in one moto and third in the other. The tiebreaker went to Sexton with the best finish in the second race. Sexton missed three rounds at the beginning of the season, but in the 12 motos run he has scored 10 second-place finishes and was third on two other occasions. He has only four more opportunities to see if he can beat Lawrence.
With a sweep of the Unadilla podium, Ferrandis now has five consecutive top-five finishes as he consistently moves his way up the SuperMotocross standings. He is 48 points behind the injured Cooper Webb and likely to crack the top five before the end of the season.
450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points
Combined SMX points
In fourth, Adam Cianciarulo scored his fifth top-five of 2023. Plagued by injuries in the past, he is currently battling a nerve injury to his hand that is causing to relearn how to ride. This season has been one in which he is trying to reestablish himself as a challenger and with a sweep of the top 10, he is accomplishing that.
Aaron Plessinger began the weekend with the announcement he would return to Red Bull KTM in 2024 and repaid the team’s confidence with his eighth top-five in nine rounds.
In his first Pro Motocross race, Harri Kullas barely missed the top five with a sixth-place finish. He ran with the leaders for a little while before settling into seventh in each moto.
Two other privateers who have been making a lot of noise, Garrett Marchbanks and Ty Masterpool also landed in the top 10. Marchbanks was seventh overall with results of sixth and 10th in the two motos. With a 9-8, Masterpool was credited with ninth.
Hunter Lawrence did not win either moto at Unadilla but with a pair of second-place finishes, he scored the overall victory. Most importantly, he extended his points’ lead to 22 over Justin Cooper as a mechanical failure took Haiden Deegan out of the first race. Deegan entered Unadilla only three points behind, but dropped to fourth in the standings when he failed to earn any points in Moto 1.
Finishing only one point behind Lawrence at Unadilla, Levi Kitchen won the first moto and had a shot at the overall. It was his second moto win of the season. Kitchen has nine top-five finishes in 2023, but he has also finished well down the order too many times to make him a title contender. He sits fifth in the standings.
Moto 1 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Times
Moto 2 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Times
Consolation Race
Deegan’s misfortune allowed Cooper to move up to second in the standings. Winning Moto 2 certainly didn’t hurt matters either. As with Kitchen, that was the second moto win this year and it keeps his championship hopes alive. Cooper will need help from Lawrence, but the points’ leader has already finished outside the points twice this year.
Jo Shimoda had a breakout win at Unadilla last year and he proved this is still one of his best tracks by finishing third in both motos. Since victories pay more points, he lost the podium position to Kitchen and Cooper, but he showed a lot of speed and consistency throughout the day.
For the first time in 2023, Maximus Vohland rounded out the top five with a fourth-place finish in Moto 1 and a sixth in Moto 2. He came close on three occasions earlier this year with sixth-place results at Fox Raceway, Thunder Valley and Southwick.
In his fourth Pro Motocross race, Daxton Bennick also scored a season-best finish in ninth. He has one previous top-10, which came at RedBud in his first series race.
250 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points
Combined SMX points
2023 Motocross Results
Round 8: Jett Lawrence, Haiden Deegan win
Round 7: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence win
Round 6: Jett Lawrence, Tom Vialle win
Round 5: Jett Lawrence, Haiden Deegan win
Round 4: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence still winning
Round 3: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence continue to win
Round 2: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence win again
Round 1: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence win
2023 Supercross Results
Round 17: Chase Sexton, Jett Lawrence win
Round 16: Chase Sexton, RJ Hampshire win
Round 15: Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence win
Round 14: Justin Barcia, Max Anstie win
Round 13: Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence win
Round 12: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Round 11: Eli Tomac bounces back with sixth win
Round 10: Chace Sexton wins, penalized
Round 9: Ken Roczen wins
Round 8: Eli Tomac wins 7th Daytona
Round 7: Cooper Webb wins second race
Race 6: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Race 5: Cooper Webb, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 4: Eli Tomac, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 3: Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen win
Race 2: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Round 1: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings
Week 25: Haiden Deegan moves up two spots
Week 24: Chase Sexton close the competitive gap
Week 23: Justin Cooper is now most powerful in 250s
Week 21: The Lawrence brothers remain perfect
Week 20: Cooper Webb moves up
Week 19: Jett Lawrence pulls away
Week 18: Jett Lawrence rockets to the top
Week 16: Chase Sexton takes SX title
Week 15: Eli Tomac is back on top
Week 14: Justin Barcia, most of top 20, hold steady
Week 13: Justin Barcia leapfrogs the Big Three
Week 12: Eli Tomac gains momentum
Week 11: Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac overtake Chase Sexton
Week 10: Chase Sexton leads with consistency
Week 8: Chase Sexton unseats Eli Tomac
Week 7: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Eli Tomac
Week 6: Perfect Oakland night keeps Eli Tomac first
Week 5: Cooper Webb, Chase Sexton close gap
Week 4: Eli Tomac retakes lead
Week 3: Ken Roczen takes the top spot
Week 2: Ken Roczen moves up; Chase Sexton falls
Week 1: Eli Tomac tops 450s; Jett Lawrence 250s