Sexton and Kitchen win in New York
Photo: MX Sports Pro Racing
NEW BERLIN, N.Y. (August 10, 2024) – The 2024 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, kicked off its stretch run of the summer with an anticipated return to action from the lush rolling hills of Central New York’s iconic Unadilla MX for Round 9 of the season. 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 ELF Fuels 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, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider and championship leader Chase Sexton edged out Team Honda HRC’s Hunter Lawrence for Sexton’s fourth consecutive win. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen emerged with his second career victory over Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider and championship leader Haiden Deegan.
450 Class
Moto 1
The premier class opened its first moto with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine of Aaron Plessinger out front for the MotoSport.com 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 teammates 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 Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson rounding out the top five.
Moto 2
The final moto of the afternoon started with Sexton at the head of the pack exiting the first turn, which he carried to the MotoSport.com Holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb, who made his first start of the summer in a return from injury, and Phoenix Racing Honda’s 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 Ferrandis were challenged by Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s 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.
Overall
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.
Photo: MX Sports Pro Racing
1st: Chase Sexton, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2-1)
“I knew a lazy first lap wasn’t going to cut it. I’ve been working on my starts and got my first holeshot of the summer, which was awesome. I was able to sprint out to a big lead and manage it from there. I focused on shorter stuff during the break [in the schedule] in an effort to be more well-rounded and that paid off.”
Photo: MX Sports Pro Racing
2nd: Hunter Lawrence, Team Honda HRC (1-2)
“It was a tough track to pass on and the roost was gnarly. A great first day on the 2025 bike. I would have loved to have the overall, but still a good day [in second]. I feel like a new man [after the schedule break] and now I’m back to being the Hunter I know.”
Photo: MX Sports Pro Racing
3rd: Aaron Plessinger, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (3-4)
“I was so far back on the first lap. It was a hard-fought ride. I’m not sure where I started, but I just clicked another gear [physically] and it felt so good to climb through the pack. It was definitely hard fought, but I knew I just had to keep getting one more position. It was an all-around good day.”
250 Class
Moto 1
The opening moto of the afternoon got underway with Kitchen leading the field to the MotoSport.com Holeshot ahead of his teammate Ty Masterpool. Behind them riders jockeyed for position, with the Team Honda HRC machine of Chance Hymas settling into third before going on the attack to pass both Masterpool and Kitchen and move into the lead before the completion of the opening lap. Not long after, Masterpool went down from third and dropped outside the top 20, which moved Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie into third, just ahead of teammate Deegan.
The top four remained unchanged through the first half of the moto and pulled away from the rest of the field, with double digits separating Deegan, in fourth, and Triumph Racing’s Jalek Swoll, in fifth. Back out front, Hymas was able to establish his biggest lead of the moto entering the final 10 minutes, opening a margin of 6.5 seconds on Kitchen, who started to feel pressure from the Yamahas of Anstie and Deegan. Soon, Deegan started to increase his pace, which allowed him to make his way around Anstie for third and give chase to Kitchen. The former teammates started to engage in a spirited battle when Hymas crashed out of the lead with just under five minutes remaining. Kitchen moved into the lead, with Deegan second and Anstie third. Hymas eventually reentered the race, one lap down.
The battle for the lead intensified again as Deegan was able to take advantage of an inside line to get alongside Kitchen and make the pass. Kitchen attempted to fight back, but Deegan solidified the move and put some distance on the Kawasaki. Over the final two laps Kitchen got within striking distance, but it wasn’t enough as Deegan stormed to his eighth moto win of the season by 1.5 seconds over Kitchen, with Anstie following in third. Team Honda HRC’s Jo Shimoda made a late charge to finish fourth, while Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks finished fifth in his first moto with the team.
Moto 2
The second moto started the same way as Moto 1, with Kitchen leading the field to the MotoSport.com Holeshot ahead of Masterpool, who then crashed out of second and dropped deep in the field. Masterpool’s misfortune allowed Shimoda to move up into second, with Deegan in third. The clear track worked heavily into Kitchen’s favor as he was able to move out to a multi-second advantage that he managed for most of the first half of the moto, forcing both Shimoda and Deegan to settle in.
Kitchen’s lead slowly started to shrink as the moto neared its halfway point and soon Shimoda found himself within striking distance. Deegan, meanwhile, lost touch with the lead pair. Back up front, the battle for the lead started to take shape as Shimoda began looking for alternate lines. Despite being slightly quicker, Shimoda was unable to mount a pass attempt as Kitchen rode well to counter any potential moves. As they started to navigate lapped traffic, it allowed Kitchen to gain some breathing room. As he continued to give pursuit, Shimoda went down with a little more than two minutes to go and was unable to finish. That moved Deegan into second and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle into third.
With no pressure from behind, Kitchen cruised home to the fifth moto win of his career by 15.6 seconds over Deegan. Vialle finished third.
Overall
By virtue of their identical moto finishes, Kitchen (2-1) and Deegan (1-2) finished the afternoon tied atop the overall standings, but the second moto tiebreaker went to Kitchen to secure his second career victory and his second win in the past three races. Deegan maintained his comfortable lead in the championship with a runner-up finish, while Swoll gave Triumph its first ever podium result as a manufacturer in third (6-4).
Deegan’s lead in the championship grew once again and now sits at 70 points over Kitchen, who moved from third to second. Vialle, who finished 11th overall due to a crash in Moto 1 (22-3), dropped to third and sits 81 points out of the lead. Deegan is now able to clinch the championship at the next round.
Photo: MX Sports Pro Racing
1st: Levi Kitchen, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki (2-1)
“This feels amazing. I needed that break (in the schedule). I feel refreshed. Jo [Shimoda] and I were sending it in that [second] moto, but he went down, which sucks. I hope he’s ok. Two holeshots, this is amazing. I feel so great on the bike. It was a really good day for me.”
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2nd: Haiden Deegan, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (1-2)
“After seeing guys go down around me I realized I have a comfortable points lead [and didn’t need to push]. This is still second place and a really good day for me. Levi [Kitchen] was on it today, so congrats to him.”
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3rd: Jalek Swoll, Triumph Racing (6-4)
“I’m ecstatic. It feels like it’s taken longer than it should [to finish on the podium]. To come out here and ride so good in front of all these fans and on a track like this, it’s awesome. This was long overdue.”
Words and Images by MX Sports Pro Racing