2019 Unadilla Motocross | Race Preview

2019 UNADILLA MOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

2019 UNADILLA MOTOCROSS | TELEVISION BROADCAST DETAILS

For one weekend each year, a small town in New York becomes the center of the motocross universe. It’s been that way for decades and will continue to be as long as the grass gets cut in time for a round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. This year’s event, the 2019 Unadilla Motocross, is the tenth round of the American series and comes at a crucial time for every rider with hopes of holding the number one plate at some point in the next few weeks. There are only six motos left in the summer. Make it count.

Everything about Unadilla is old school motocross. The first lanes of the track are flat out and reward a rider that isn’t afraid to hold the throttle on a little longer than everyone else. We have sympathy for anyone caught behind the rear wheel of any bike at the start because the small rocks that are in the dark dirt feel like buckshot. After that, the course winds around a valley with fade away leaps, banked turns, and obstacles that require a mix of technique and timing to get through without the pegs getting caught up in deep ruts that form in the somehow always soft soil. There aren’t a lot of daunting jumps on the track, which makes the Skyshot tabletop even more appealing for fans of big air. Then there’s Screw U, which is basically a straight drop to hairpin turn to vertical climb back out of the hole. The fact that this weekend is one of the few times that riders put a tire to the track makes even more special.

Florida aside, the weather this summer has been outstanding and that’ll continue this weekend. High temperatures for Saturday are forecasted for the high 60s-lows 70s and there’s no real call for rain, so we should be in for the first full dry race in a few years.

Here’s what we have our eye on this weekend….

Can Eli Tomac duplicate his Washougal ride? Will the weather help Ken Roczen keep his energy levels? How does Marvin Musquin handle another high-pressure close championship chase?

Tomac’s full focus is on clinching a third straight outdoor title and he really wants to clinch it at Budds Creek so that he can go into Ironman without any concerns for once. He’s up a full 50 points to Musquin and if he can keep this number or grow it over the next four motos, then it’s possible. An interesting stat was pointed out in the MX Sports pre-race press release: seven of Tomac’s eight moto wins this summer have been come from behind charges and he rarely has the most laps led of any race weekend.

In the Washougal post-race press conference, Roczen stated that he now knows exactly what his medical problem is and that it’ll take some rest in the offseason to sort it out. Even with the lack of energy, the Team Honda HRC rider has been in the mix during the cooler race days and that’ll certainly be the case in New York. Another thing Roczen said at Washougal is that he’s done drastically experimenting with the setup of the CRF450R, which was the blame for his subpar moto finishes in the middle of the season.

Marvin Musquin is once again in the mix for the 450 title, again against Eli Tomac. The Red Bull KTM rider experienced his share of opening lap issues and strange situations through the middle of the season, things he can’t fall victim to through the last six races if he wants a chance to take the championship. Unadilla tends to favor a rider with Musquin’s skillset because one must search out and use different lines than the axle-deep ruts that most tend to rely on during the motos. If Musquin can avoid the issues and put in his best laps near the front of the pack from the moment the gate drops, he can pull off a big sweep on Saturday.

Do things get tense between Cianciarulo and Ferrandis? Will a Loretta Lynn’s graduate mix up the running order?

All things considered, we haven’t seen the rivalry between Adam Cianciarulo and Dylan Ferrandis that one might expect. Winning championships is all that both have worked for in the last few years, each went through their own challenges to get to this point, and they’ve become two of the top 250 riders in the world as a result. Things have been pleasant between both for the most part, with champagne bottles clanked during podium celebrations, but that could all change in the last six races. With news that Cianciarulo is going to the 450 class in 2020 confirmed, this is the wunderkind’s last chance at a 250 title. Ferrandis has another year to work with but would love nothing more than to sweep the American series in a single season. The battle at Washougal was a perfect example of their personal skills without an aggressive move exchanged, but there were a few boasts and brags in the post-race interviews. Just keep watching, because this could get good.

Jalek Swoll, Jo Shimoda, Jett Lawrence, and Carson Mumford will all line up in the 250 class this weekend with the support of factory teams (Swoll with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, Shimoda/Lawrence/Mumford with GEICO-AMSOIL Honda). The era of a young rider landing on the podium in their first race seems to be over, but all four are confident that they can make things interesting through the rest of the summer. Here are their numbers for reference.

352. Jalek Swoll
374. Jo Shimoda
496. Hunter Lawrence
822. Carson Mumford

2019 UNADILLA MOTOCROSS | 250 CLASS ENTRY LIST

12. Shane McElrath
23. Chase Sexton
26. Alex Martin
31. RJ Hampshire
32. Justin Cooper | The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider is currently third in the point standings.
34. Dylan Ferrandis | The Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha rider is currently second in the point standings.
36. Michael Mosiman
39. Colt Nichols
40. Sean Cantrell
44. Cameron McAdoo
45. Brandon Hartranft
52. Jordan Bailey
55. Kyle Peters
59. Nick Gaines
61. Garrett Marchbanks
66. Mitchell Oldenburg
73. Martin Davalos | The The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider returns to action after missing multiple rounds due to nerve damage in his neck and arms.
78. Ramyller Alves
89. Joey Crown
92. Adam Cianciarulo | The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider leads the championship standings.
110. Yusuke Watanabe
123. Mitchell Falk
128. Carter Halpain | Yamaha-supported rider will make pro debut at Unadilla.
130. Austin Root
139. Nathen LaPorte
154. Chase Felong
156. Jacob Hayes
161. Justin Thompson
162. Maxwell Sanford
168. Cale Kuchnicki
194. Jerry Robin
203. Andrew Boccarossa
201. Jonathan Mayzak
233. Derek Drake
242. Shawn McDonald
247. Brock Papi
285. Marshal Weltin
291. Zane Merrett
294. Nicholas McDonnell
301. Jordan Jarvis
337. Vincent Luhovey
340. Blake Taylor
342. Colton Karl
346. Kevin Moranz
352. Jalek Swoll | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider will make pro debut at Unadilla.
366. Thomas Addy
372. Hayden Hefner
374. Jo Shimoda | GEICO Honda rider will make pro debut at Unadilla.
377. Craig Canfield
407. Benjamin Nelko
426. Kein Denzler
432. Salvatore Colangelo
441. Scott Meshey
459. Austin Brooks
483. Bryton Carroll
491. Gabe Gutierres
509. Alex Nagy
514. Anthony Roth
515. James Doolittle
516. Yeissen Rubalcava
529. Taylor Strauss
546. Tylor Skodras
561. Caleb Hall
583. Corey Ridel
595. Michael Kitzmiller
622. Zac Maley
625. Patrick Coreno
631. Brandon Dickson
649. Corey Burnett
664. Hunter Stempel
675. Kyle Dillin
698. Cameron Pettit
719. Joshua Berchem
737. Zachary Butkiewicz
741. Spencer Mang
769. Andrew Rossi
778. James Harrington
808. Joshua Bock
818. James Barry
822. Carson Mumford | AMSOIL Honda rider makes his pro debut at Unadilla.
827. Blake Ovitt
841. Jeff Walker
870. Colton Camp
906. Adrian Galamba
923. Chris Moore
936. Ty Masterpool
962. Joseph Tait
993. Austin Wagner

MISSING FROM THE LIST

6. Jeremy Martin | GEICO Honda rider is still recovering from the vertebra burst fractures he suffered in the 2018 season; he is expected to return to competition in 2020.
24. Austin Forkner | Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider will miss the entire summer with torn ligaments in his knee.
28. Jordon Smith | The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM rider could no longer deal with the lingering tendonitis in his wrist from a crash in the Supercross season and will soon undergo surgery to correct the injury; Smith will miss the rest of the summer.
64. Jimmy Decotis | Due to a recent restructure at the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing team, Decotis will not be a part of the two-rider 250 team this summer.
67. Enzo Lopes | Due to a recent restructure at the JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing team, Lopes will not be a part of the two-rider 250 team this summer.
112. Thomas Covington | The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider is out for RedBud in order to recover from an ongoing case of Epstein Barr that is draining his energy levels.
196. Hunter Lawrence | The GEICO Honda rider is sidelined for multiple rounds with a broken collarbone that required surgery.

2019 UNADILLA MOTOCROSS | 450 CLASS ENTRY LIST

1. Eli Tomac | The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider leads the championship standings.
2. Cooper Webb
7. Aaron Plessinger
15. Dean Wilson
16. Zach Osborne
17. Joey Savatgy
19. Justin Bogle
21. Jason Anderson
25. Marvin Musquin | The Red Bull KTM rider is second in the championship standings.
29. Benny Bloss
37. Kyle Cunningham
41. Ben LaMay
43. Tyler Bowers
49. Henry Miller
51. Justin Barcia
56. Lorenzo Locurcio
63. John Short
74. Cade Autenrieth
80. Heath Harrison
90. Jeremy Hand
94. Ken Roczen | The Team Honda HRC rider is currently third in the championship standings.
101. Fredrik Noren
119. Issac Teasdale
129. Ryan Diezic
144. Nicolas Rolando
207. Ronnie Demorest
208. Logan Leitzel
217. Cory Gilliam
222. Brandon Hugney
237. David Costa
248. Travis Delnicki
254. Cody Briner
265. Nick Fratz-Orr
270. Jacob Runkles
279. Timothy Crosby
280. William Clason
281. Cory Carsten
283. Kyle Bushee
295. Jack Pagano
309. Jeremy Smith
312. Chis Makuta
314. Tyler Stepek
317. Richard Tolman-Moschetti
319. Coty Schock
332. Dustin Winter
351. Eric Grondahl
354. Matthew Toth
444. Calen Tennant
447. Deven Raper
475. Timothy Scouten
479. James Coen
499. Dawson Chestnut
511. Charles Wernig
513. Aerian Weaver
524. Frank Peneno
533. Brent Rouse
577. Felix Lopez
582. Alexander Brown
600. Connor Olson
607. Kyle Endriss
637. Bobby Piazza
645. Jacob Pogodzienski
647, Matthew Hubert
661. Noah Chambers
688. Gabe Woodrow
696. Nick Kraeger
700. Justin Weeks
716. Ryan Dowd
718. Toshiki Tomita
724. Jason McConnell
729. Philip Bugbee
755. Kyle Ianuale
763. James Henshaw
771. William Clark
776. Seamus Sullivan
778. Josh Heintz
802. Marshall Macintyre
811. Christopher Williams
813. Aaron Lampi
833. Tyler Hayes
834. Kristopher Corey
844. Yanick Boucher
878. Eric McKay
880. Conor Sheridan
881. Jerry Lorenz
887. Thomas Coluzzi
915. Ryan Quinn
940. Evan Talbott
945. Arie Reachard
997. James Hebert

MISSING FROM THE LIST

4. Blake Baggett | The Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM rider will miss Washougal to recover from an ongoing illness.
14. Cole Seely | Team Honda HRC rider is sidelined for the remainder of the summer due to a torn labrum and broken shoulder socket, injuries that required surgery and a three-month recovery.
46. Justin Hill | JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing rider is out for the rest of the summer after suffering a recent shoulder injury and necessary surgery.
54. Dylan Merriam | The privateer is sidelined with a finger injury from a run-in with another rider at Washougal.
103. Dean Ferris | The Australian racer and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing team have parted ways, effective immediately.