10 Things to Watch for at Unadilla

Courtesy of MX Sports

After a two-week break, the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship ramps back up this weekend at the legendary Unadilla Sports Center in New Berlin, New York. The race marks the ninth round of the 12-race championship tour, which will conclude over the next four Saturdays in succession. You can watch the first motos live right here on Allisports.com, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. And the second 450 moto (plus first moto highlights) will air at 7 p.m. on SPEED TV. Check back here at Allisports.com all weekend long for updates, insight, and more.

In the meantime, here are ten things to watch for at Unadilla!

1.) Everything old is new again!

With a nod to the ’08 Anaheim Supercross, the Unadilla race will mark the first “retro race” for the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, where riders, teams, and fans are invited to participate by running old-school gear, graphics, mullets, whatever! Unadilla has been holding AMA Motocross races since 1970, making it the oldest facility to have continually held AMA races of this caliber. Among those already getting into the retro vibe are Team Honda, which will run graphics on their three race bikes from three different decades—‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s—and all of the GEICO Powersports Honda riders, who will wear retro Fox Racing gear that recalls the company’s roots as a privateer motocross team in the late seventies.

2.) K-DUB is Back!

After taking the entire summer off, veteran superstar Kevin Windham is making his return to the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross tour, only instead of entering the 450 class he’s been racing for more than a decade, Windham decided to sign up for the 250 class! That means the GEICO Powersports-backed Honda rider will enter the division (formerly the 125 class) in which he last won here at ’Dilla in 1997, sweeping both motos over a red-hot rookie by the name of Ricky Carmichael!
Windham also topped RC here in 2003 in an epic battle that saw RC aboard a CR250R while Windham rode the fairly new CRF450R. Carmichael is rightfully called “the greatest of all time,” but if Windham wins this time against this talent-packed class of kids, it will be his biggest win ever at Unadilla.

3.) There are two points leaders in the 250 class!

At the top of the list of riders Windham would have to out-race for the win are Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel. Things could not get much closer than they are in this class, as both riders total 337 points (out of a possible 400) after eight rounds of knock-down, drag-out racing. As a result, both Dungey, who hails from Minnesota, and the Frenchman Pourcel will wear the red number plates that signify the series points leader.

4.) Chad Reed is also tied for the lead …

… but tied with Dungey and Pourcel in total points, not anyone else in his class, with 337 points. In fact, the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider is well ahead of everyone else in the 450 class, which has been decimated by injuries (Ryan Villopoto, Mike Alessi, Davi Millsaps, Broc Hepler, Ben Townley, Tim Ferry, and, most recently, Josh Grant, who crashed himself onto the couch during the X Games). If Reed just holds steady, he should be able to wrap up his first career AMA Motocross title (to go with two AMA Supercross crowns) next weekend at Budds Creek. But lately Reed hasn’t been holding back. In fact, he won the last two rounds of the series in Minnesota and Washington.

5.) Barcia! Barcia! Barcia!

Sensational rookie Justin Barcia is returning to his home state of New York for the first time as a professional, and many expect the GEICO Powersports Honda rider to go all-out for the win. Barcia has yet to win a moto this summer, but he has come close often. His exaggerated riding style is part James Stewart, part Ryan Villopoto, and he’s been one of the best starters this season so far. One drawback: While Barcia grew up in New York, he will have no home-track advantage, as Unadilla rarely holds amateur races on the legendary circuit.

6.) Gravity Cavity

One of the most famous spots in all of motocross is Unadilla’s Gravity Cavity, a deep chasm that will see the riders drop off a steep four-story ledge, bottom out, then go straight back up to launch off the Lucas Oil finish line. The spot has been the site of many famous motocross pictures, including Bob “Hurricane” Hannah’s feet-off-the-pegs image, shot by Dick Miller in the late seventies, as well as Danny “Magoo” Chandler’s “rodeo whip” of 1982. What will be cool to watch this time is the “scrub” technique of Justin Barcia, who violently pushes the bars down off almost every jump in order to keep the bike low.

7.) “Paging Christian Craig: Report to your future!”

When Josh Grant went down at the X Games, the Joe Gibbs Racing MX/Toyota Yamaha team did not have many places to turn in the already-decimated pro pack, so they dipped into the amateur ranks and found what may turn out to be a diamond in the rough in young Christian Craig, son of former Yamaha factory rider Mike Craig. The younger Craig will go straight into the 450 class and could be a top-ten finisher. Anything better than that will be a big surprise—this Craig’s still green, even though he will be riding blue.

8.) Two-Strokes!

The FMF Two-Stroke Invitational returns this weekend with a packed gate of 40 two-smokers returning to ’Dilla, a track that seems tailor-made for the screamers. Several former local pros will be in the field, though the fun one to watch will be Danny LaPorte, the Hall of Fame rider who won the 1982 FIM 250cc World Championship, a series that included a stop here at Unadilla. The inside bet to win the FMF Two-Stroke Challenge? Greg Schnell, a multi-time 125cc Supercross main event winner who recently moved to New York.

9.) The ever-unpredictable Jason Lawrence

The last time we saw Jason Lawrence at a Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross race, he posted a solid third in the second and final moto at Washougal, which raised him to third overall in the race—a summer best for the wild child of American motocross. Then J-Law went to the X Games and could have won, but instead pulled out of the race with problems…. This guy needs a win in the last four rounds if he’s going to have much hope for good support in 2010, and what better place to show the world you mean business than Unadilla?

10.) Team USA will be announced

Enough support has been pulled together to send Team USA back to the Motocross of Nations in October, which takes place in Italy. Team USA has won the race each of the last four years, though the bizarre level of injuries will have its effect on the Americans’ chances of a fifth straight, as Stewart, Villopoto, Alessi, Hepler, and Ferry could have all played a valuable role against the rest of the world’s best in this team competition. But somehow Team USA manager Roger DeCoster has built a team that will be eager to defend our country’s winning streak at the race in early October. The announcement will come Saturday afternoon.

Check back with Allisports.com all weekend long for more updates from the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, including the Racer X Pre-Race and Post-Race reports, with exclusive video and interviews.