11 Aug 2024

Christian Craig and Malcolm Stewart inside the top 10 at Unadilla National

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing pair Christian Craig and Malcolm Stewart claimed P8 and P9 overall as the AMA Pro Motocross Championship got back underway at Unadilla this weekend, competing with a distinctive Heritage livery at Round 9 of the 2024 season.

Craig qualified strongly in seventh position and then pushed hard on his way to ninth in Moto 1, before improving further and finishing eighth in the final outing. That consistency saw him claim eighth overall in challenging track conditions, currently ninth in the standings with two rounds left to run.

"Unadilla was good for us," Craig commented. "I qualified really good, sixth in the first session and seventh in the final one, so my speed was there. In Moto 1, I fought my way up to ninth and was in the battle, then second moto I made a few too many mistakes early and got shuffled back. All in all, riding was better, and my arm was in a better spot today – things are coming around."

450MX teammate Stewart directly trailed Craig on the overall charts with ninth place on his Husqvarna FC 450 Rockstar Edition. After qualifying in ninth, Stewart went 10-9 across the premier class motos on Saturday in a continuation of his rebuild, managing to overcome a crash from earlier in the day. He sits seventh in the points following Unadilla.

"I had a crash in practice and banged myself up a bit, and then the track was very technical in the motos," Stewart said. "We ended up ninth overall, which we'll take, and I'm looking forward to moving forward at these last couple."

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing 250 Class Class newcomer Casey Cochran's day was impacted by a crash in the final outing, unfortunately causing him to DNF the moto. Before then he qualified 11th and then repeated that same result in Moto 1, which put him 16th for the weekend, and has him ranked 12th in the series on the Husqvarna FC 250 Rockstar Edition.

"Today wasn't too bad and it was a decent first moto," Cochran reflected. "I was feeling good for the second moto, and was just outside of the top-five, but unfortunately had a crash and am pretty banged up."

Next Race: August 17 – Budds Creek, Maryland

Results 450MX Class – Unadilla National
1. Chase Sexton (USA), KTM
2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda
3. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM
8. Christian Craig (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
9. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

Standings 450MX Class 2024 after 9 of 11 rounds
1. Chase Sexton, 407 points
2. Hunter Lawrence, 379
3. Aaron Plessinger, 319
7. Malcolm Stewart, 238
9. Christian Craig, 188
11. Justin Barcia, 148

Results 250MX Class – Unadilla National
1. Levi Kitchen (USA), Kawasaki
2. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha
3. Jalek Swoll (USA), Triumph
6. Pierce Brown (USA), GASGAS
9. Julien Beaumer (USA), KTM
10. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), GASGAS
11. Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM
16. Casey Cochran (USA), Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing

Standings 250MX Class 2024 after 9 of 11 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 408 points
2. Levi Kitchen, 338
3. Tom Vialle, 327
7. Pierce Brown, 225
9. Ryder DiFrancesco, 204
11. Julien Beaumer, 174
12. Casey Cochran, 164