Unadilla MX Loves Danger
By
Heading into Unadilla MX, Haiden Deegan has a sweet 54 point lead over Tom Vialle in 250MX. If he continues his averages over the next two rounds, he clinches the championship at Budds Creek (one round early).
To clinch this weekend at Unadilla, Deegan would need Vialle (-54), Levi Kitchen (-70) and Chance Hymas (-86) to ALL have (really) bad races and he’d need to put 10 points on Jo Shimoda (-90).
The chances of all that happening are slim so let’s explore another scenario that Deegan already has experience with: Unadilla’s cruel way of disrupting or destroying championship runs.
Here’s three key 21st century example just from the 125/250 class
2023: Haiden Deegan (DNF-10)
2023: Deegan entered Unadilla just three points behind leader Hunter Lawrence after a brilliant 1-1 at Washougal. On lap 13 of moto one, however, (while running 3rd), Deegan’s bike quit and he scored a DNF (38th).
In moto two he got pushed off the track in both starts (there was a red flag) and battled back to 10th. He left Unadilla in 4th place (-36)
2010: Christophe Pourcel (DNF-1)
2010: Christophe Pourcel entered Unadilla (round 9/12) with a 38 point lead over Trey Canard and set the fastest overall qualifying time. He won Unadilla 2009 with a 1-1 so it seemed likely he’d at least leave NY with an even larger lead.
Pourcel crashed on lap two of moto one while running second and DNF-ed with a bent up bike. He won moto two and retained the points lead but Unadilla was the precursor of an even bigger meltdown at round 12.
Visit The We Went Fast Shop!
Keep these stories coming! The Shop is where you can find We Went Fast hats, shirts, artwork and autographed memorabilia.
USGP Tee
$29.99
2001: Travis Pastrana (1-DNF)
2001: Travis Pastrana was half a lap away from leaving Unadilla (round 7/12) with a dominating 1-1 finish and (what would have been) a 50 point lead over Grant Langston.
Instead, he went over the bars less than 60 seconds from the moto two finish and suffered a concussion and a DNF (because it was the final lap and Pastrana had already lapped many riders, he technically finished 22nd in the moto).
The scores were so lopsided at the end of the day, Damon Huffman landed in third overall with 8-5 moto scores. Pastrana was sixth overall (1-22).
While Pastrana still held the points lead after Unadilla, his season unraveled further two rounds later at Washougal when he suffered another concussion. The moto one win at Unadilla was the final moto victory (and podium) of Pastrana’s career.
Unadilla 2005 Would Like a Word
Although this happened in the 250/450 class, how could we write an article about disasters at the ‘Dilla without mentioning 2005 and that time James Stewart landed right on Ricky Carmichael’s back.
It happened in moto one; Stewart was riding an underpowered KX250 two stroke and doing everything he could to stay with Carmichael who was on a Suzuki RM-Z450. A miscalculation resulted in one of Unadilla’s most iconic moments, which you can read in further detail at the Unadilla MX history page.
For Stewart, Unadilla became its own nemesis. He didn’t finish a single moto for three straight seasons: 2005 (crashed out of moto 1), 2006 (crashed in practice and didn’t race) and 2007 (crashed in qualifying and didn’t race).
In Ricky Carmichael’s retirement tour season (2007) Unadilla was the first round RC didn’t run. Stewart would have left Unadilla with a massive points lead. Instead, Carmichael maintained the lead, Stewart stayed in second +19 on his teammate, Tim Ferry.
In 2008, after Stewart finally won a 450 overall at Unadilla, he admitted to Erin Bates during his SPEED TV interview, “This track scares me.”
Oh, and here’s another heartbreaker from Unadilla MX. In 1994, Mike Kiedrowski took a rock to the hand in moto one, which allowed Mike LaRocco to coast to the 250/450 title.