No Room for Error
Hunter Lawrence came into Unadilla with a 12-point lead over Jett Lawrence, but after a mistake left him with a mangled machine, which triggered a costly DNF, he now trails Jett by ten points. There are four motos remaining, so mathematically there’s still a path to victory, but there’s absolutely no room left for error. If Hunter doesn’t win both motos at Budds Creek, or at least finish in front of his brother, winning the title is going to be borderline impossible. -Aaron Hansel
Throwaway Round
Zach Osborne was back at Unadilla for his first pro race in years. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well, with crashes and bike issues resulting in 33rd overall by way of 22-40 moto scores. But c’mon, after not racing pro since 2021 you can’t expect a hero ride from anyone, right? Osborne will be back this weekend at Budds, and if he can avoid bad luck, he should be much better than he was at Unadilla. -Hansel
- Motocross, WMX
Budds Creek
Saturday, August 22- SMX Friday Live Presented by HondaLiveAugust 21 - 1:30 PM
- Race Day Live (Qualifying)LiveAugust 22 - 10:00 AM
- All MotosLiveAugust 22 - 1:00 PM
- All MotosLiveAugust 22 - 1:00 PM
- Only Second MotosLiveAugust 22 - 3:30 PM
Throwaway Round Redux
Things weren’t great for Aaron Plessinger either, who was making his return to racing for the first time since injuring his tailbone at RedBud. The Red Bull KTM rider had mechanical trouble in both motos, which resulted in two DNFs. On the bright side, Plessinger is healthy and is good to go for Budds Creek. Where will The Cowboy slot in on Saturday? -Hansel
Back at It
Justin Cooper was also back in action at Unadilla, and unlike Plessinger, he didn’t have any mechanical problems. He was a bit off his usual place, going 8-12 for ninth overall, but that’s to be expected considering he hasn’t raced since crashing hard and getting concussed at Hangtown. Expect Cooper to improve his results a bit this weekend at Budds Creek. -Hansel
Big Gains
Jorge Prado was the best he’s been all season at Unadilla. He had speed early that he was able to maintain in both motos. He held second over Jett Lawrence deep into the first moto, then challenged and passed Hunter in the second moto, which isn’t something we’ve really seen from Prado this summer. We’ll see if Prado can ride to his potential yet again at Budds Creek, where temperatures will likely be a bit higher. -Hansel
Refreshed and Ready to Rip
Is how Levi Kitchen looked at Unadilla. Kitchen hunted down Cole Davies in the first moto and took over the lead, then came from last to sixth after being forced off the track in the first turn of the second moto. He’d made it up to fifth on the final lap, but New Zealander Brodie Connolly stole the spot back when Kitchen seemed to put in in cruise in the final few corners. Kitchen now leads Davies by just one point with four motos remaining. Who will hold the lead after Budds Creek? -Hansel
No Fluke
Carson Mumford has been a revelation lately. He kicked off his current surge at Spring Creek, where he took third in the second moto and was fifth overall, and has taken fourth overall at both Washougal and Unadilla. He was even back on the box in the first moto at Unadilla, too. Sometimes riders will get a great finish out of nowhere then fade into obscurity, but when you do it three races in a row, it can’t be attributed to dumb luck. Can Mumford keep it up, and possibly even score an overall podium, at Budds Creek? -Hansel
Another One
Garrett Marchbanks also matched his best overall of the season at Unadilla with a fourth overall. This was after coming off of two tough weekends in a row at Spring Creek and Washougal. He is really shooting for an overall podium and has two rounds left to do it this summer in Pro Motocross. -Sarah Whitmore
Another Great Finish
Was Mark Fineis at Unadilla who was fifth in the second moto. Fineis also put in a great ride at Spring Creek where he battled with Eli Tomac and ran in the top 10 for most of the moto before he eventually finished 11th. The best thing about watching a good finish from Fineis is watching his interviews afterwards. Can we be so lucky again at Budds? -Whitmore
What/Who/When
WMX is back this weekend, and the racing has been great in this class all season. So great that it was decided their first motos which are run on Friday should also be shown live, along with press-day riding. So come 1:30 pm on Friday tune into SuperMotocross Youtube channel and see if anyone can stop Lala Turner or if she will extend her points lead even further. -Whitmore
