Jett Lawrence wins at Unadilla and takes the championship lead

Round 9 of the AMA Pro Motocross Championships at Unadilla: Jett and Hunter Lawrence dominated qualifying and started the first race from first and second on the grid. The lap time of Spanish Red Bull KTM factory rider Jorge Prado, in third place, was just 0.7 seconds slower. ‘Dangerboy’ Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) qualified in fourth place.

Combined qualifying:

1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 2:12.122

2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, +0.464

3. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, +0.720

4. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, +0.851

5. Justin Cooper (USA), Yamaha, +2.491

6. Jed Beaton (AUS), Yamaha, +2.745

7. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki, +3.021

8. R.J. Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna, +3.596

9. Eli Tomac (USA), KTM, +3.673

10. Jordon Smith (USA), Triumph, +4.065

11. Dylan Ferrandis (F), Ducati, +4.612

Race 1: Hunter Lawrence wins convincingly

Haiden Deegan took the holeshot ahead of Hunter Lawrence, but Hunter fought back on the very first lap. Jett also attacked Deegan, but Haiden stumbled, resulting in a collision. In the following left-hand bend, Jett went down and initially dropped back to fifth place. Jorge Prado, whose KTM works contract had only been extended yesterday, showed his attacking spirit and also overtook Deegan. Jett closed the gap on Deegan and the inevitable happened: the two rivals engaged in a fierce battle, with Jett ultimately coming out on top. Later on, Jett was also able to overtake Prado when the latter was held up by riders he had lapped. Hunter Lawrence was able to complete his laps unchallenged at the front. He won the first race comfortably ahead of his brother Jett and Jorge Prado.

Jett Lawrence stürzte im ersten Lauf von Unadilla nach Kollision mit Deegan

Foto: AMA

Race 2: Hunter Lawrence takes a heavy crash

Hunter Lawrence took the holeshot in the second race. A three-way battle ensued between the Lawrence brothers and Jorge Prado. Jett took the lead and, shortly afterwards, Prado also overtook Hunter to move into second place.

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Hunter Lawrence stürzte im zweiten Lauf von Unadilla

Foto: AMA

Hunter Lawrence’s crash

Hunter skidded sideways just before the steep descent, crashed and rolled all the way down the hill. The Australian crawled back up the hill and tried to continue the race on a bent bike. After two laps, however, he was forced to retire, knowing that this crash had most likely cost him the title. The winner of the first race was classified only 39th and thus failed to score any points.

Race win for Jett Lawrence

Jett Lawrence won the second race by a margin of 10.7 seconds ahead of Jorge Prado, who was once again in fine form, and secured his fourth overall victory of the season with a 2-1 result. Prado finished second in the overall standings with a 3-2 result, marking his personal best performance of the season. Prado stood on the podium at Unadilla for the third time this year. Haiden Deegan finished third with a 4-3 result.

Standings at the top of the table

Hunter’s withdrawal meant a change at the top of the championship standings at Unadilla. Jett Lawrence leads by 10 points after 9 of 11 events. Next week, the penultimate round of the championship takes place at Budds Creek.

What else happened

The injured Kawasaki works rider Garrett Marchbanks could do little more than limit the damage by finishing fourth overall, whilst his team-mate Cornelius Toendel disappointed with 16th and 17th-place finishes. The Norwegian failed to capitalise on his opportunity and is likely to lose his place in the Kawasaki works team once again. Mikkel Haarup is also still not fully fit following his broken nose and failed to make the top 10. Red Bull KTM factory rider Eli Tomac (KTM) got off to a good start in the first race and was initially in fourth place behind Haiden Deegan. Jorge Prado then overtook him. In the end, Tomac lost further places and finished in 7th. In the second race, however, he only managed 14th.

Where did Jed Beaton suddenly come from?

The former Australian MX2 World Championship rider and Australian MX1 champion, who will be competing in the last three rounds of the US Nationals on a wildcard, put in a surprisingly strong performance at Unadilla. Beaton surprised everyone at Unadilla with top-10 finishes in both races.

450 Results, Unadilla

1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 2-1

2. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, 3-2

3. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 4-3

4. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki, 5-4

5. R.J. Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna, 6-8

6. Dylan Ferrandis (F), Ducati, 9-6

7. Jed Beaton (AUS), Yamaha, 10-9

8. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 1-39

9. Justin Cooper (USA), Yamaha, 8-12

10. Justin Barcia (USA), Ducati, 14–7

11. Eli Tomac (USA), KTM, 7-14

12. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha, 12-10

13. Mikkel Haarup (DK), Triumph, 13–11

14. Mark Fineis (USA), Kawasaki, 21–5

15. Benny Bloss (USA), Beta, 15-13

16. Cornelius Tändeln (N), Kawasaki, 16-17

450 Standings after Event 9 of 11

1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 402 points

2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda, 392, (-10)

3. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha, 336, (-66)

4. Jorge Prado (E), KTM, 311, (-91)

5. R.J. Hampshire (USA), Husqvarna, 282, (-120)

6. Dylan Ferrandis (F), Ducati, 243, (-159)

7. Garrett Marchbanks (USA), Kawasaki, 241, (-161)

8. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha, 201, (-201)

9. Mikkel Haarup (DK), Triumph, 189, (-213)

10. Justin Barcia (USA), Ducati, 174, (-228)

11. Jordon Smith (USA), Triumph, 165, (-237)