Australian Jett Lawrence Clinches Second Pro Motocross 450 Class Championship with Dominant Victory at Unadilla

Jo Shimoda Keeps 250 Class Title Hopes Alive to Complete Honda Sweep

NEW BERLIN, NY – August 17, 2025 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – The penultimate race of the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, visited the hallowed grounds of Central New York’s iconic Unadilla MX as the oldest venue in American motocross hosted race 10 of the summer campaign and Round 27 of the SMX World Championship regular season. The ELF Lubricants Unadilla National Presented by Clinton Contractor, Anderson Equipment Company, and New York LECET began under cloudy skies, but gave way to abundant sunshine with temperatures in the mid-80s as Honda HRC Progressive’s Jett Lawrence, one week removed from his 22nd birthday, clinched his second 450 Class title and once again hoisted the Edison Dye Cup after a dominant 1-1 performance. In the 250 Class, Honda HRC Progressive’s Jo Shimoda kept his championship hopes alive with an impressively dominant 1-1 performance of his own, which prevented the championship coronation for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan and gave Honda HRC Progressive a clean sweep of the afternoon with a pair of moto sweeps and overall victories.

Moto 1

The first premier class moto of the day began with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jorge Prado, the reigning two-time MXGP World Champion, leading the field to the Pro Motocross Holeshot, only to be passed by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire and Honda HRC Progressive’s Hunter Lawrence. Behind this group, a trio of 450 Class champions duked it out with Jett Lawrence, Progressive ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen, and Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Eli Tomac. All three then made their way around Prado.

A torrid opening five minutes saw Hampshire manage about a 1.5 second lead over the Lawrence brothers, with Jett pressuring Hunter for second. A savvy move by the points leader saw him take over second and push around Hampshire for the lead on the same lap. A few laps later, a mistake by Lawrence took him off track and allowed Hampshire to briefly reclaim the top spot, but Lawrence regrouped to regain control of the moto. Hampshire then went down, which allowed Hunter Lawrence to move up to second and Tomac up to third as Hampshire remounted in fourth.

Jett Lawrence stretched his lead over the closing stages of the moto and went on to take his 14th moto win of the season by 7.7 seconds over Hunter Lawrence, with Tomac a distant third. Hampshire held on for fourth, while Roczen finished fifth in his first moto of the 2025 season.

Jett Lawrence clinched his second 450 Class title after a 1-1 performance at Unadilla.
Photo Credit: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

Moto 2

The final moto of the afternoon started with Hunter Lawrence narrowly edging out Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Justin Cooper for the Pro Motocross Holeshot, but it was Jett Lawrence who caught everyone by surprise with an outside line that allowed him to go from fourth to first and seize control of the moto right away. Hunter Lawrence didn’t let up and went on the attack, getting alongside his younger brother a couple times. Hunter’s pressure persisted for another lap but Jett never wavered and was able to begin inching away. Cooper followed from third.

The Lawrences settled into the top two positions through the midway point of the moto while Tomac, who was running fifth, began a climb forward. The Yamaha rider made his way around Hampshire for fourth and then tracked down his teammate Cooper for third, as Tomac successfully made his way into the top three. However, he faced a considerable gap to the Lawrences with just over 10 minutes to go.

Back up front, Jett Lawrence managed a comfortable lead all the way to the finish to capture his 43rd career moto win and complete the sweep by 9.3 seconds over Hunter Lawrence. Tomac finished in third.

Hunter Lawrence earned his fifth runner-up finish of the season.
Photo Credit: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

Overall

Jett Lawrence ended the longest winless streak of his career, two races, with an emphatic 1-1 performance for his 23rd career victory, 17 of which have come via moto sweeps. His championship triumph comes a little more than six months removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered at the Glendale Supercross in February. Hunter Lawrence captured his fifth runner-up finish of the season (2-2), while Tomac earned the 79th podium result of his career (3-3).

While Jett Lawrence’s 53-point lead is insurmountable, Hunter Lawrence’s 45-point margin over third place, Tomac, in the standings has the elder Lawrence poised to complete the first 1-2 championship finish for siblings in series history.

Eli Tomac now has 79 podium finishes in his decorated career.
Photo Credit: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

1st Place: Jett Lawrence, Honda HRC Progressive (1-1)
“It didn’t seem possible [to be here after my ACL injury]. You work so hard for this and then it’s taken away from you in an instant. I manifested this moment every time I was at a low point in my recovery to keep believing that I could get back where I needed to be. All the pain I endured in getting the strength back in my knee was to get back to this point right here. It truly feels amazing to accomplish this.”

2nd Place: Hunter Lawrence, Honda HRC Progressive (2-2)
“I’ve always considered myself as a top contender, so it’s good to be here [in the runner-up spot]. I gave it my all both motos, but it wasn’t good enough. Congrats to Jett [Lawrence], he’s been riding awesome all season. We’ll see if we can get him in the [SMX] playoffs.”

3rd Place: Eli Tomac, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (3-3)
“For Unadilla it was a pretty good performance for me. This place can be my Achilles heel, it’s just so challenging. Other than being outridden by the Lawrence brothers, I would say that it was a pretty good day. I gave it all I had; it just wasn’t enough to catch those two.”

450 Class Overall Results (Moto Finish // Points)

1. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Queensland, Australia, Honda (1-1 // 50)
2. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Queensland, Australia, Honda (2-2 // 44)
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha (3-3 // 40)
4. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna (4-5 // 35)
5. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha (6-4 // 34)
6. Dylan Ferrandis, Avignon, France, Honda (7-6 // 31)
7. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna (10-7 // 27)
8. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS (9-8 // 27)
9. Kyle Webster, Korumburra, Victoria, Australia (8-9 // 27)
10. Valentin Guillod, Môtier, Switzerland, Yamaha (11-10 // 23)

450 Class Championship Standings (Race 10 of 11)

1. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Queensland, Australia, Honda – 462
2. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Queensland, Australia, Honda – 409
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha – 364
4. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 349
5. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 328
6. Jorge Prado, Lugo, Galicia, Spain, Kawasaki – 241
7. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 209
8. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 204
9. Valentin Guillod, Môtier, Switzerland, Yamaha – 179
10. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS – 165

450SMX Regular Season Standings (Round 27 of 28)

1. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 630
2. Jett Lawrence, Landsborough, Queensland, Australia, Honda – 533
3. Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 516
4. Chase Sexton, La Moille, Ill., KTM – 510
5. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Husqvarna – 486
6. Hunter Lawrence, Landsborough, Queensland, Australia, Honda – 471
7. Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, KTM – 459
8. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Yamaha – 444
9. Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., GASGAS – 350
10. RJ Hampshire, Hudson, Fla., Husqvarna – 328

450 Class Highlights – Unadilla National

Moto 1

The first moto of the afternoon started with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine of Tom Vialle leading the field to the Pro Motocross Holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer. Behind the lead trio, title combatants Deegan and Shimoda slotted into the top five as the Japanese rider went on a tear on the opening lap to claw his way into the lead. Vialle continued to lose positions and dropped out of the top three as Hammaker and Deegan moved into second and third, respectively.

The clear track allowed Shimoda to open up an advantage of nearly seven seconds on the field as Deegan made the move on Hammaker to take control of second. Shimoda continued to build on his lead, which soon grew to nearly 15 seconds over Deegan, who himself settled into a firm hold of second, nearly 10 seconds ahead of Hammaker in third.

Shimoda didn’t relent and added more time to his advantage and wrapped up the most dominant moto of the year in the division. The Honda rider took his fourth moto win of the season by 39.7 seconds over Deegan, while Hammaker held solid to finish third. Vialle followed in fourth, with Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks in fifth.

Jo Shimoda staved off championship elimination with his third win of the season.
Photo Credit: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

Moto 2

The second and deciding moto got underway once again with the Frenchman Vialle at the head of the pack aboard his KTM, leading the field to the Pro Motocross Holeshot just ahead of Hammaker and Shimoda. Like Moto 1, the Honda rider was aggressive on the opening lap and went on the attack, making a quick pass on Hammaker before finding a way around Vialle just before the completion of the opening lap. Hammaker settled into third. Behind them, Deegan started deep in the top 10 and was forced to make a lot of passes early on. Meanwhile, the clear track allowed Shimoda to move out to a multi-second lead over Vialle.

As both Shimoda and Vialle were able to firmly assert their hold on the top two positions, Deegan methodically marched his way forward. The Yamaha rider passed riders, one by one, and soon enough made his way into podium position with a pass on Hammaker for third. However, he faced a double-digit deficit to the top two with little time left in the moto.

Shimoda continued to lay down fast laps and soon saw his lead surpass 10 seconds in the late stages of the moto, effectively ending any threat from Vialle. The rider from Japan wrapped up a sweep of the motos by a winning margin of 13.4 seconds over Vialle, followed by Deegan in a distant third.

Haiden Deegan will need to wait another week to try and win his second straight title.
Photo Credit: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

Overall

The second 1-1 effort of the season netted Shimoda his third win of the summer, a new single-season record for the Honda rider, and the sixth win of his career. Deegan earned a runner-up finish (2-3) for his ninth podium result of the summer, while Vialle rounded out the top three (4-2) for the fifth time this season.

Deegan entered Unadilla one-point clear of the 50 point-advantage needed to clinch the title on Saturday, but in losing eight points to Shimoda the remaining title contenders will head to the finale separated by 43 points. Marchbanks, who finished sixth, remains third.

Tom Vialle has back-to-back podium finishes since a return from a missed race.
Photo Credit: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

1st Place: Jo Shimoda, Honda HRC Progressive (1-1)
“Two good motos for me [today], and I got two more good starts. I just kept with the consistency. I’ve been riding much better [lately]. This was a good one today.”

2nd Place: Haiden Deegan, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing (2-3)
“It’s hard to push the edge when you have a championship to win. I think that’s how I got to where I am, being patient. I never felt very comfortable today, but credit to Jo [Shimoda], he was ripping. We’ll go take care of business next weekend.”

3rd Place: Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (4-2)
“My speed was a lot better in the second moto. I also was able to get two holeshots. That was good for today and hopefully we can keep that speed for the last race of the season.”

250 Class Overall Results (Moto Finishes // Points)

1. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda (1-1 // 50)
2. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha (2-3 // 42)
3. Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM (4-2 // 40)
4. Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki (3-6 // 36)
5. Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM (6-4 // 34)
6. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki (5-5 // 34)
7. Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Triumph (8-9 // 27)
8. Ryder DiFrancesco, Bakersfield, Calif., GASGAS (11-8 // 25)
9. Nate Thrasher, Livingston, Tenn., Yamaha (13-7 // 24)
10. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki (10-10 // 24)

250 Class Championship Standings (Race 10 of 11)

1. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 460
2. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 417
3. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 320
4. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 289
5. Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 282
6. Mikkel Haarup, Silkeborg, Denmark, Triumph – 239
7. Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki – 216
8. Maximus Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., Yamaha – 212
9. Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Triumph – 198
10. Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Yamaha – 180

250SMX Regular Season Standings (Round 27 of 28)

1. Haiden Deegan, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha – 681
2. Jo Shimoda, Suzuka, Japan, Honda – 580
3. Garrett Marchbanks, Coalville, Utah, Kawasaki – 465
4. Tom Vialle, Avignon, France, KTM – 462
5. Seth Hammaker, Bainbridge, Pa., Kawasaki – 393
6. Julien Beaumer, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., KTM – 345
7. Maximus Vohland, Sacramento, Calif., Yamaha – 332
8. Levi Kitchen, Washougal, Wash., Kawasaki – 328
9. Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Triumph – 324
10. Michael Mosiman, Sebastopol, Calif., Yamaha – 311

250 Class Highlights – Unadilla National

The 2025 Pro Motocross Championship will conclude on Saturday, August 23, from the shadow of Washington D.C. as Southern Maryland’s Budds Creek Motocross Park hosts the Yamaha Budds Creek National Finals. A 250 Class Champion will be crowned at the 11th and final race, and all the action can be seen via exclusive and comprehensive live broadcast coverage on Peacock, beginning with Race Day Live at 7 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. ET, followed by uninterrupted coverage of the motos at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.

Pro Motocross Championship Press Conference – Unadilla National

For information about the Pro Motocross Championship, please visit ProMotocross.com and be sure to follow all of the Pro Motocross social media channels for exclusive content and additional information on the latest news:

MX Sports Pro Racing

MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., manages and produces the world’s premier motocross racing series – the Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. MX Sports Pro Racing is an industry leader in off-road powersport event production and management, whose mission is to showcase the sport of professional motocross competition at events throughout the United States. Through its various racing properties, partnerships and affiliates, MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., organizes events for thousands of racing athletes each year and attracts millions of motorsports spectators.

Visit MXSportsProRacing.com for more information.

Pro Motocross Championship

The Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing features the world’s fastest outdoor motocross racers, competing aboard homologated bikes from one of eight competing manufacturers on a collection of the roughest, toughest tracks on the planet. Racing takes place each Saturday afternoon, with competition divided into two classes: one for 250cc machines, and one for 450cc machines. MX Sports Pro Racing, the industry leader in off-road powersports event production, organizes the Pro Motocross Championship series.

More information can be found at ProMotocross.com.

SMX World Championship

The SMX World Championship™ is the premier off-road motorcycle racing series in the world that combines the technical precision of stadium racing with the all-out speed and endurance of outdoor racing. Created in 2022, the SMX World Championship Series combines the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the Pro Motocross Championship sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing into a 28-round regular season that culminates with the season-ending SMX World Championship Playoffs.

Visit SuperMotocross.com for more information.

AMA Pro Racing

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization for North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. It serves as the sanctioning body of the Pro Motocross Championship.

Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at AMAProRacing.com.

Source: MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc.

####