Chase Sexton and Hunter Lawrence tied for points at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York, but with just two rounds remaining, Sexton’s path to the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship is getting easier.
Sexton got off to a better-than-average start in Moto 1 and was in the race from Lap 1. At that point he was behind Lawrence and teammate Aaron Plessinger, but he made short work of AP and had Lawrence in his sights as he moved into second place the next time he was on the track. Sexton briefly took the lead midway through the race but had to settle for second at the finish line.
Sexton quickly took the lead in Moto 2 and had a 14.696 second lead over the field by Lap 8. Sexton won the second moto and secured the overall points in a tiebreaker with 47 points.
Click here for race updates and a recap from Unadilla
Lawrence gave the new 2025 Honda 450 CFR a win in its first outing in the Pro Motocross Series and had a good chance to win the weekend. A long grid position frustrated him and the other competitors and cost Lawrence momentum. After leading from start to finish in Moto 1, Lawrence started the second main race sixth and needed the entire race to get into second. Lawrence passed Dylan Ferrandis on the final lap to finish second, moving him level with Sexton in the points as well.
This solid run for Lawrence came a week after Honda failed to finish on the podium in a Pro Motocross race for the first time since 2020.
Unfortunately, Lawrence had to make up ground, not just hold serve. Lawrence is 28 points behind Sexton when he competes at Budds Creek next week, and the leader will have to finish in fifth place or worse on average if Lawrence wins all of his races.
Track officials expected rain for Round 9 of the 2024 Pro Motocross season and had been preparing for this eventuality for weeks.
Plessinger took the holeshot for Moto 1 before being passed by Lawrence on Lap 1. After losing another spot to Sexton, he remained top of the class to finish third. A fourth-place finish in Moto 2 put him third in the standings.
Losing his position on the final lap of Moto 1 cost Ferrandis two points and his first podium finish with Phoenix Racing Honda since joining them at the start of the Monster Energy Supercross season. Ferrandis also came close at the season opener in Pro Motocross with a fourth place at Fox Raceway in Pala, California.
Jason Anderson has made strong gains in recent weeks, with fifth-place finishes in both races putting him fifth overall. This is his fourth consecutive top-five finish in 2024.
In his first race since his leg injury, Ken Roczen finished seventh and sixth in the motos and seventh overall. He will not return to the 450cc class until the SuperMotocross World Championship.
Cooper Webb also returned to racing this week and put in a strong performance in Moto 1 with an eighth place finish. A crash in Moto 2 sent him to the tow station early and he failed to score any points. He was credited with 15th place 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.
Motorcycle 1
Results
Round chart
Individual lap times
Fastest segment times
Motorcycle 2
Results
Round chart
Individual lap times
Fastest segment times
Points for professional motocross riders
SuperMotocross rider points
Here is the order of placings in Round 9 at Unadilla (points earner):
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. Heinrich 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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Hunter Lawrence introduces the new Honda 2025
How Unadilla MX survived Hurricane Debby
Cooper Webb confirms Unadilla for return in 2024
Shane McElrath joins the MaddParts.com Kawasaki team
Ken Roczen is headliner of the German MXoN squad
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