Kitchen and Cooper Score Moto Wins at Unadilla
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing secures another double podium and wins both 250MX motos with Levi Kitchen and Justin Cooper at the Unadilla National / Aug 12, 2023 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Levi Kitchen took home a runner-up finish with a 1-4 moto score aboard his YZ250F at yesterday’s Round 9 of the Pro Motocross Championship. His teammate Justin Cooper scored a dominant victory in the second moto, securing third overall with a 5-1 result in front of the home crowd at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York. Rookie Daxton Bennick joined them in the top 10, finishing ninth overall (14-9) in his first race back in the pro ranks after a stellar finish to his amateur career last week at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. Making his return after being sidelined with a broken leg at the Glendale Supercross, Stilez Roberston had a solid first race back, finishing 16th overall (11-18) in the challenging conditions. Haiden Deegan was on course for another podium finish until a technical issue ended his first moto early. Despite the adversity, the rookie went on to salvage points and finish 17th overall with his 38-10 score.
After a tough qualifying in 16th, Kitchen came out swinging and grabbed the holeshot in the first moto. The Washington State rider put his head down and rode his own race despite being under pressure. He continued to hold off a couple of challengers to stay in the lead and secure his second moto win of the season. Kitchen once again got off the gate well in Moto 2 and was fourth after the restart, where he would ultimately finish to claim second overall. His strong performance at the Unadilla National moved him up to fifth in the championship standings.
Cooper had a solid start to the day in his home state, qualifying fourth. From there, he got a great start in third, but unfortunately, he struggled to find his comfort zone after the opening laps and was shuffled back to seventh. The New Yorker regrouped and started to make his way back with five laps remaining, crossing the line fifth. Making some changes for the second moto, Cooper got another great start in the runner-up spot and took over the lead on the second lap. He then upped the ante with a blistering pace up front to remain unchallenged for his third moto win of the season. In addition to securing third overall, Cooper’s victory keeps him mathematically in the title chase, trailing the championship leader by 22 points with four motos remaining.
Fresh off of his dominant performance in the Open Pro Sport class that saw him take the title at last week’s Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, Bennick made progress throughout that day. After qualifying 19th, the 2023 Nicky Hayden AMA Motocross Horizon Award winner found himself 22nd after the first lap. Undeterred, he fought his way up to 13th before unfortunately having a tip-over in the final laps, which had him crossing the line 14th. In Moto 2, Bennick had a better start and quickly made his way to 11th, ultimately finishing ninth to end the day ninth overall for a solid first outing at Unadilla MX.
Rejoining the team for his first race back since his injury at the Glendale Supercross at the beginning of April, Robertson had a solid start to the day and qualified 11th. He didn’t get the start he was hoping for in the first moto and was 18th after the first lap and struggling with arm pump issues. The Californian kept pushing to make his way to 11th. Feeling better for the second moto, Robertson came out swinging and grabbed the holeshot. The race was red- flagged shortly after, but he got another good start in sixth. Unfortunately, he had a tip-over on the opening lap and rejoined toward the back of the field, but the Californian made his way back to 18th to end the day 16th overall.
Deegan had a strong qualifying for his first outing at Unadilla MX and was 10th in the combined times. He got a good start in the first moto with his teammates and slotted into second. Although he was shuffled back to seventh in the opening laps, the rookie didn’t give up and fought his way back to third. The Californian was looking to chase down his title rival, but unfortunately, his race ended in the final laps with a technical issue. From there, it was an uphill battle with a bad gate pick that put him far on the outside. Despite the adversity, Deegan kept pushing and fought his way from the back to 12th by Lap 4. Around the halfway mark, he had a tip-over but quickly rejoined to salvage a top-10 finish, ending the day 17th overall and trailing the points leader by 36 points.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads down to Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland, for the penultimate round of the Pro Motocross Championship and the 27th round of the SuperMotocross World Championship on August 19.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager“Unadilla had some ups and downs. We brought back Stilez Robertson, and Dax joined back up with us after having a successful finish to his amateur career. Qualifying was a bit off for a few of the guys as they struggled to get comfortable on a very different track prep.
“Moto 1 started out great with Levi getting the holeshot, Haiden in second, and Justin in fourth. Levi went on to win the moto. Justin finished fifth, Stilez 11th, and Dax got back into the pace of pro racing and finished 14th. Unfortunately, with around two laps to go, Haiden had a technical issue and was unable to finish.
“After the red flag restart in Moto 2, Justin came out with the holeshot and sprinted away from the pack, ultimately winning the moto and getting third overall. Levi also got a top-five start and finished fourth for second overall. Stilez struggled in the second moto finishing 18th and ending the day 16th. Dax had a great push through the pack, finishing ninth for ninth overall. Haiden had the 38th gate pick in the second moto and had to fight from the back to ultimately finish 10th and score 17th overall.
“In the end, we salvaged some points with Haiden and will continue to fight for this championship. Justin is now only 22 points out of the lead, and we will also continue to fight for the championship with him as well. As we have learned, anything can happen in this battle for the title, and we need to keep fighting!”
Levi Kitchen - Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a pretty good day. I didn’t qualify well, but that’s something I’m trying to work on. Then in the first moto, I got the holeshot and won that, which was great and also something I’ve been working on because we haven’t had the best first motos. Then in the second moto with some restarts and all that, I ended up fourth. It was a pretty good day, finishing second overall. I’m getting off the gate better, and it’s helping a lot throughout the day, so I’m stoked.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a good day. We tried something in the first moto, and I just wasn’t comfortable. I started third and tightened up a little bit and fell back pretty quick. I took a step back, regrouped, and tried to make a charge at the end of Moto 1, but I just lost too much time in the beginning. I went back to my normal setup in Moto 2 and felt really comfortable, and I think I showed that and just rode aggressive the whole time. It was fun. There are a lot of fans here, so they were keeping me going the rest of the moto.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“Yeah, it was a good day. I didn’t have the greatest qualifying, but I regrouped for Moto 1 and made my way up to about 12th. I actually ended up going down on the last lap, which is a little frustrating, but I’m glad I’m all right. I had a pretty good second moto and came out around 14th or 15th and made my way up to ninth, which ended up getting me ninth overall. So I’m really pumped on the day. I just need to figure out my first motos. I’m looking forward to Budds Creek next weekend!”
Stilez Robertson – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“Yeah, it was the first one back. In the first moto, I got a little bit of arm pump and just kind of struggled. In the second one, I was feeling good. I pulled the holeshot on the first start and was leading, but then, unfortunately, there was a red flag. On the second start, I came out fifth or sixth and again was feeling good but just tucked the front. Another rider got stuck on top of me, so it took me a while to get up. I’m not really happy, but it’s the first race back, so we got that out of the way and are moving on to Budds Creek.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“Today was going really well in the first moto. I felt super good, and then we had an issue and didn’t finish, which happens, so we just had to move on. I was all the way on the outside in the second moto, so I had a very bad start and just tried my best and finished 10th. It is what it is. At the end of the day, we are leaving here healthy and will be back to fight another day.”
2023 Pro Motocross 250MX Unadilla Resultshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2345/M2F2PRESS.pdf
2023 Pro Motocross 250MX Results Championship Standingshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2345/M2F2POINTSPOSITION.pdf
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