Deegan Scores Hard-Fought Podium at High Point
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan returned to the podium with a third-overall finish at the High Point Nationa / Jun 18, 2023 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan stood on the 250MX podium for the third time this season, finishing third overall at yesterday’s Round 4 of the Pro Motocross Championship in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. The 17-year-old continues to impress, taking a runner-up finish in the first moto and then charging back to sixth after a crash at the start of Moto 2. Levi Kitchen overcame adversity in the challenging conditions to finish ninth with a 12-4 moto score. His teammate Jordon Smith also made improvements on the deeply rutted track, ending the day 13th overall (15-10). Unfortunately, Justin Cooper had a big crash in the second qualifying session and did not line up for the motos
After a tough round last weekend in Colorado, Deegan came out swinging at the High Point Raceway, earning his first fastest qualifying honors in 250MX. He got a good start in fourth in the first moto and quickly made his way to the runner-up spot. The Californian took over the lead after the halfway mark when the frontrunner crashed. With around five minutes on the clock, he went down when a lapped rider had a tip-over in front of him, but he quickly rejoined. Deegan was running a strong pace up front, but on the final lap, he was shuffled to the runner- up spot while trying to navigate around another lapped rider on the rutted track. The young rider had his work cut out for him in the second moto, having to come back from the back of the field after a crash at the start. Undeterred, he put in some fast laps to cross the line sixth and return to the podium with third overall. Deegan moved up to second in the 250MX points standings and is third in the SuperMotocross World Championship combined points for the 250 class
Although Kitchen struggled early on and qualified 32nd, he bounced back to end the day ninth overall. With his less-than-ideal gate pick, it was a tough first moto. He got stuck behind the big pileup after the start and found himself on the ground a couple of times, but he kept pushing and made his way up to 12th. In the second moto, the Washington State rider came back swinging and grabbed the holeshot. He was shuffled to second on the opening lap and was later passed by the series points leader on Lap 6. Kitchen was holding down third and tried to hold off the competition but ultimately was passed in the final corner and crossed the line fourth. He currently sits sixth in the 250MX standings and fourth in the SMX combined points.
Smith also struggled in the challenging conditions but kept working throughout the day. He qualified 10th, but unfortunately also got caught up in that big pile-up after the start of the first moto. The North Carolina rider had another crash but kept charging and was able to come back to 15th. In the second moto, Smith got a much better start in sixth and ultimately crossed the line 10th to end the day 13th overall. He currently holds the fifth spot in the SMX combined points standings for the 250 class.
Unfortunately, Cooper’s day ended early with a big crash in the second session of qualifying. The New Yorker was evaluated on-site by the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit and was transported to the hospital for further evaluation. He was released this morning and will head home to Florida to rest up and return to full fitness, and aims to be back for RedBud
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team gets a weekend break before heading to RedBud MX in Buchanan, Michigan, for Round 5 of the Pro Motocross Championship and the 22nd round of the SuperMotocross World Championship.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager“The track was really tough today. Haiden had a great day, and it was a good bounce back after Colorado. He was the fastest qualifier, led some laps in the first moto, and finished second. Then he had a great comeback after crashing at the start of the second moto and finished sixth to get back on the podium with third overall.
“Both Levi and Jordon were struggling today in these conditions and had a tough first moto starting towards the back, but they both had a much better second moto with better starts. Levi got the holeshot and finished fourth for ninth overall, and Jordon finished 10th for 13th overall
“Thankfully, Justin is okay after his crash this morning in qualifying. He’s feeling pretty bruised and beat up, but fortunately, we have a weekend off for him to rest up before the next one. We’ll keep working to get our guys up front and come back at RedBud.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a good day. I was the fastest qualifier and got a good start. I was happy with the first moto, even though RJ (Hampshire) got by me there in the end. I was riding smooth, and it was a good moto. The second moto was crazy. I crashed after the start, got run over, and got up in last. My mindset was just, I’m going to crash, or I’m going to get on the podium today. I just sent it so hard and made my way up to sixth to get third overall.”
Levi Kitchen - Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was pretty rough. I qualified 32nd overall, which is pretty bad, and I need to work on that. In the first moto, I fell a few times in a pileup and then worked my way to 12th. In the second moto, I turned it around and got the holeshot. I didn’t really have a great pace to run with the leaders, and then Jo (Shimoda) got me in the last turn, so I fell back to fourth. For the way the day was going, it was a good turnaround. So I’m happy with that and looking forward to the weekend off and then on to RedBud, which is one of my favorites.”
Jordon Smith – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a tough day. The track was really gnarly. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a track like that, so I was kind of struggling all day. I went down in the second turn in the first moto and then went down again pretty hard, so I was struggling through that first moto. The second moto was a little better. I got a better start and just tried to hit some lines the best I could. We were struggling, but I held it together for a top 10. We’ve got a little break now, so we will get rested up and also do some work and try to do better at RedBud.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“The last 24 hours have been pretty scary, but thankfully I’m okay. I crashed yesterday in the second round of qualifying and got hit in the chest and neck by the handlebars. My throat started to close up in the Alpinestars medical unit, and I was immediately transported to the nearest hospital. I spent the night there and am headed back home to Florida now to start on my recovery.”
2023 Pro Motocross 250MX High Point Resultshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2320/M2F2PRESS.pdf
2023 Pro Motocross 250MX Results Championship Standingshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2320/M2F2POINTSPOSITION.pdf
2023 SMX Combined 250 Pointshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2320/X2F2SMXPOINTS.pdf
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