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Unadilla Venue

Unadilla

New Berlin, NY

“The place to race since 1969,” upstate New York’s Unadilla MX is one of America’s original motocross tracks, hosting the biggest events in sport history, including USGPs, the Motocross of Nations, Pro Motocross, and more. A truly European layout with Woodstock vibes, the former dairy farm lies within the Unadilla River Valley, six miles north of the town of New Berlin and between Syracuse and Albany. Unadilla is an Iroquois word that means “place of meeting.”

Fast Facts

Venues

Laid out within 55 green acres of upstate New York farm land, Unadilla MX was once famous for kicking off race weekends on a completely grass covered course, the result of the track going untouched for an entire year. Originally called the Unadilla Valley Sports Center, the facility hosted Trans AMA races before the AMA Pro Motocross Championship even existed and has run a bit of everything since 1969, including the 1987 Motocross of Nations, the first time the event was held in the United States.

Ward Robinson bought the land in 1968 after seeing an Inter-AM motocross in Pepperell, Mass. and he held his first race the following year. The layout used today is close to Ward Robinson’s original vision of a natural Euro-style course and even still has many of the original track features, such as Gravity Cavity and The Wall (originally called ‘Screw U’).

A second generation of Robinsons (Jill and Greg) run the venue, which now features the Skyshot, a 150-ft. tabletop jump that catapults riders to the center of the course.

Iconic Moments

Unadilla MX has hosted it all; Pro Motocross, the Motocross of Nations, World Motocross Grand Prix events, Trans-AMAs, Bob Hannah vs. Roger De Coster, Hannah vs. the World, Hannah’s last race, and the crowning of many champions.

1987: Team USA Wins in the Slop

Bob Hannah (pictured) was part of many, many great Unadilla moments (Trans-AMA battles with De Coster and his final pro race in 1989) but one of his most legendary appearances was on an RM125 at the 1987 Motocross of Nations.

The ’87 MXoN is remembered as another (7th straight) Team USA win. What’s forgotten is that it was a come-from-behind nail-biter. Team USA was in a scary deficit after moto one. And given the conditions, nobody wanted to spot the Dutch or the Belgians points.

The track was so muddy after non-stop pouring rain that it was hard for the 125 riders to get up the hills. Hannah needed three attempts on lap one to get his ‘Zook to the top of ‘Screw-U’. “For the first half of that moto, I was riding like an old woman,” he said.

Team USA was the most consistent between their three riders (Jeff Ward, Ricky Johnson, Hannah). All 6 scores were 4th or better, whereas the Netherlands and Belgium each had a moto with a DNF.

But in 1987, teams were allowed to throw away their TWO worst scores. In the end, the top three teams all had finishes of third or better and the final points were very close. Team USA beat the Dutch by two points, who beat the Belgians by two points.

1989: Making History

Kawasaki’s Jeff Ward clinched the 500cc AMA Pro Motocross title in 1989, making history at Unadilla’s return to the Pro Motocross schedule for the first time in 22 years.

Ward was the first rider to win all three Pro Motocross crowns (125, 250 and 500).

Ward won the 1989 title by 21 points over Honda’s Jeff Stanton. Stanton’s teammate Jean-Michel Bayle was the man to beat that day, going 1-2 for the overall win.

The 1989 title was Ward’s sixth career AMA National championship and he repeated as 500 champion in 1990.

The 125 class that day was even closer. Yamaha’s Damon Bradshaw won the Unadilla overall with a sweep of the motos but Honda’s Mike Kiedrowski took home the #1 plate by just three points after a 3-2 day.

2003: Kevin Windham Ends The Streak

After his first perfect season in 2002, Ricky Carmichael continued his domination into 2003. Carmichael built his streak to a staggering 21 consecutive overall victories.

However, his fortunes changed at Unadilla as fellow Honda rider Kevin Windham, riding a Honda CRF450R, ended RC’s historic run. Windham put his 450 out front with a holeshot in the first moto as Carmichael (on a CR250R two stroke) started in eighth. The defending champion quickly moved into the runner-up spot, but Windham was long gone, taking the win by 20 seconds.

The pair started up front during the second moto, but Windham was too much for Carmichael. Windham’s extra power and torque ruled the track that day as an unprecedented run of dominance was snapped. Carmichael was furious and it was that moment when he knew it was time to consider switching to a four stroke.

2005: A Rough Landing

A budding rivalry came to a head at Unadilla in 2005 with James Stewart landing on top of Ricky Carmichael. Heading into the race, Carmichael had lost only one moto that season (Southwick M.1), his first year of Pro Motocross with American Suzuki.

Carmichael started out front on his RM-Z 450 but a small crash put him back to fifth. Carmichael fought back, climbed up to second and pursued Stewart, who was riding an underpowered Kawasaki KX250.

Stewart defended his lead valiantly, but couldn’t hold off Carmichael, who passed Stewart on a fast downhill, Lines crossed on a drop-off at the bottom and when Stewart kept his commitment to a fast path he’d been using all race, he landed square on Carmichael’s back, taking them both down.

While Stewart lay motionless, Carmichael jumped up as if he’d only been bitten by a mosquito and untangled their bikes. Kevin Windham rode on by for the moto win. Carmichael salvaged second on a bent up bike.

The image left behind added to Carmichael’s legend of bouncing back in any condition. He won the second moto and the overall, another win on his way to a third career 12-0 season.

Jett Lawrence wins the 2023 450MX title
2023: The Coronation

Just five days after his 20th birthday, team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence completed the first major milestone of his rookie 450MX season by clinching the championship two rounds early.

Lawrence continued his winning streak, taking the checkered flag for his 17th and 18th straight moto wins. Lawrence fought off teammate Chase Sexton and 2021 champion Dylan Ferrandis during the day, securing enough points to claim the championship.

The focus then turned toward his undefeated season, which he completed two rounds later.

As one Lawrence held a championship trophy, the other took a 22-point lead. Hunter Lawrence won the 250 overall with a 2-2 day, aided in the points chase by a mechanical issue and DNF for Haiden Deegan.

This interactive table details the all-time leaders at Unadilla. Who has the most starts, wins, podiums and points. Filter by class. On mobile, slide left to access more columns. Become a member of the We Went Fast Garage for full access.

All-Time Leaders

Who won Unadilla and in what year and what round was this venue? Winners history makes that easy to see.

Winner History

Full race results from each round of Pro Motocross held at Unadilla.

Race Results