Unadilla MX History
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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.
The Unadilla MX history page is now live here at We Went Fast. Tap the button below or the link to the left to read about the history of this legendary track, a few great moments from its past and research the winners history, all-time charts and full results history going back to 1972.
The 1987 Motocross of Nations
“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, Pro Motocross and Trans-AMAs. One of the most legendary events, however, was the 1987 Motocross of Nations.
By no means is this a complete recounting of that soggy September weekend, The text below is stolen from the “Iconic Moments” section of the Unadilla history page.
Bob Hannah (above) 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.