Downhill crash moves Jett Lawrence to lead in Motocross overall points at Unadilla

Jett Lawrence’s consistent race finishes, and Hunter Lawrence’s crash in Moto 2, put Jett in first place overall by 10 points. Before the races at Unadilla, Hunter Lawrence led by 12 points. (Screen capture via NBC Motorsports YouTube)

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Jett Lawrence’s consistent race finishes, and Hunter Lawrence’s crash in Moto 2, put Jett in first place overall by 10 points. Before the races at Unadilla, Hunter Lawrence led by 12 points. (Screen capture via NBC Motorsports YouTube)

After two weeks off, Round 9 of the 2026 Motocross season at Unadilla saw an upset in the overall points lead with only four Motocross races left in the season.

Hunter Lawrence had been leading the championship by 12 points, but a crash in the second moto of the day forced him to forfeit the race. Now, his younger brother and 2025 Motocross champion Jett Lawrence leads overall by 10 points.

For the weekend, Jett Lawrence placed first overall, followed by Jorge Prado and Haiden Deegan. Hunter Lawrence placed eighth and Cortez’s Eli Tomac placed 11th.

In the first Moto of the weekend in New Berlin, New York, Deegan claimed the hole shot after Jett Lawrence “got pinched off” by riders around the corner. Hunter Lawrence raced in second and Tomac in third.

“It’s going to get spicy,” commentators said.

Jett got around Tomac as Hunter passed Deegan to move into first place position.

Tomac’s teammate Prado also passed Tomac while Jett Lawrence began putting pressure on second-place Deegan. Jett crashed in the battle with Deegan, sending him to sixth.

Jett, however, quickly made his way back through the pack and was soon narrowing the gap with third-place Prado. Prado passed Deegan for second, but Jett soon passed both Deegan and Prado, setting his sights on his brother in first.

“Hunter’s just better than he’s ever been,” commentators said.

Hunter Lawrence placed first, Jett Lawrence second and Prado third. Tomac placed seventh.

In Moto 2, Hunter took the hole shot position, with Jett and Cornelius Tøndel on his heels. Tomac was caught in the pack outside of the top 20.

Jett Lawrence and Prado both passed Hunter Lawrence, putting him in third. The three riders raced in a pack before Jett began to lengthen his lead.

Hunter then crashed on an “incredibly steep” downhill, making it difficult for him to get back to his bike. After he got his bike up, he was only able to ride a few feet before crashing again, allowing racer after racer to get ahead.

He fell to 21st in the rankings before having to leave the track, reportedly due to issues with his bike after the crash.

“This is catastrophically bad for this championship,” commentators said.

Jett Lawrence placed first, with Prado in second and Deegan in third. Tomac placed 14th.

The next race of the 2026 Motocross season will be held on Saturday at Budds Creek in Mechanicsville, MD. The final races will take place on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, IN.

bduran@the-journal.com