Take a look at the rider comments from last weekends Unadilla round of the 2024 AMA Nationals. Great performances by American riders Chase Sexton and Levi Kitchen, with a lot of guys showing speed at the beautiful circuit.

Chase Sexton: “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.”

Hunter Lawrence: “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.”

Aaron Plessinger: “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.”

Levi Kitchen: “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.”

Haiden Deegan: “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.”

Jalek Swoll: “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.”

Garrett Marchbanks: My debut weekend with the team went very well. I started the day qualifying 13th, but I have never been the best at qualifying. I came into Moto 1 feeling solid and got off to a top 10 start. I stayed consistent and rode the best I could and finished in fifth. I didn’t get the best start in Moto 2 and had to work my way up from mid pack, but managed to get back up to fifth. I tried to get into fourth after battling with Jalek (Swoll), but I didn’t end up having enough time. Overall, I am pumped on the whole team and everything they have done so far. I’m looking forward to Budds next weekend.”

Ty Masterpool: “The track turned out very good considering how much rain we got on Friday. It wasn’t as deep as I wanted it, but it shaped up to be a good race. I have a lot of positives from this weekend, including the two great starts I had, but costly mistakes got the best of me. I made a charge in both motos from way back and managed to salvage an eighth place. I am looking forward to redemption next weekend in Maryland.”

Jason Anderson: “The weekend started off well for me, placing third in qualifying. The Monster Energy® Kawasaki team has my bike feeling the best it has been all season and we are trending better and better each day I ride it. The motos were good, but I lost a bit of pace near the end which resulted in fifth overall on the day. I know I belong up front and we are going to continue working towards that to put myself where I belong. Budds Creek has always treated me well and I am looking forward to putting my KX™450SR back on the box.”

Justin Cooper: “It was fun being home, but it wasn’t the greatest day with sixth overall. I had a good first moto, and worked my way to fourth and almost got to third. In the second moto, I got a pretty bad start. I came together with some people in the first turn, bent up the shroud, and basically came back from last and charged all the way to seventh and almost got sixth. That’s all I could do today. I rode really well in both motos, so I’m happy with my riding and will take it into next weekend and try it all again.”

Cooper Webb: “It was an up and down day – my first race back in Pro Motocross and first race with the team outdoors. We were kind of around that seventh-eighth spot all day. We qualified 10th, and in the first moto I was definitely a little bit tight in that first race back. I actually had a great battle with Kenny (Roczen) that whole moto, but ended up eighth. Then in Moto 2, I had a great start and was running second for a few laps. I felt really awesome in that second one, and was around sixth or seventh and then just had that crash. Unfortunately, I kind of reinjured my thumb. I think it’s okay, and I just shocked it. We’ll get it checked out first thing next week. Overall, I’m just happy to be back at the races and taking these last few Nationals to keep building into SMX.”

Ken Roczen: “The first weekend back in Unadilla was definitely exciting for us. This was the first pro motocross we have attended this year for me personally, so it was really hard. We had a lot of rain on Friday, and we thought it was going to be a mudder, but since the track crew sealed the track, it actually ended up being fairly hard pack and pretty beat up. On the first race I had a terrible start and worked my way up and finished seventh. I was unhappy with it, so we made some small adjustments to my Suzuki for the second moto. It ended up being better, and I had a much better start in Moto 2, working my way into second until about halfway. I had a train of three riders behind me that were clearly faster; I tried to latch on and stay there as long as I could, but obviously after three months off the bike it’s hard to expect to ride up front right away. But I feel we made strides throughout the day and improved from the first to the second moto. Of course, we always wish we could have done better, but at the same time, it’s somewhere to start. I want to improve the setup a little bit and I’m excited to come back for Ironman on the 250.”

Pierce Brown: "It was an alright day today with sixth overall. My riding was good, I just didn't execute how I would really like to, but the track was gnarly and I'm happy to come out of this one with the result we managed."

Ryder DiFrancesco: "Unadilla was okay, but my starts were off and I had to come from behind all day. Second moto, I got up inside the top 10 and ended up going down... I just need starts, because everything else seems to be there at this point of the season."

Christian Craig: "Unadilla was good for us. I qualified really good, sixth in the first session and seventh in the final one, so my speed was there. In Moto 1, I fought my way up to ninth and was in the battle, then second moto I made a few too many mistakes early and got shuffled back. All in all, riding was better, and my arm was in a better spot today – things are coming around."

Joey Savatgy: "I felt good this weekend! I am just kind of at a loss for words. I just need to get off of the gate – I would love to have the chance to see what I have got. Getting off the gate is the elephant in the room for me. We have two rounds left before the SuperMotocross playoffs. I cannot expect to start where I have been and be competitive. We will go back to work this week!"

Malcolm Stewart: "I had a crash in practice and banged myself up a bit, and then the track was very technical in the motos. We ended up ninth overall, which we'll take, and I'm looking forward to moving forward at these last couple."

Casey Cochran: "Today wasn't too bad and it was a decent first moto. I was feeling good for the second moto, and was just outside of the top-five, but unfortunately had a crash and am pretty banged up."

Julien Beaumer: "It was a good day. Qualifying wasn't the best, but I turned it around in the motos. In both races I had bad starts, but really good riding. In that second one I made a mistake late in the moto, but came back to ninth, so I'm happy with my day and the progress we were able to make over the three-week break."

Tom Vialle: "I had a big crash in the opening lap of the first moto and was last, then had to stop to make some adjustments on the bike, so came back to P22 and that was the best I could do. In the second moto, I started around seventh or eighth and finished the moto third, so of course I am a little bit frustrated, but we will keep fighting across these two races to go."