Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan and Jordon Smith score a double podium for the team at the SMX Final in Las Vegas
MARIETTA, Ga. – September 23, 2024 – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan’s reign continued as he sealed the deal on his second-consecutive 250SMX title with a runner-up overall finish (1-2) at the SuperMotocross World Championship Final in Las Vegas, Nevada. Teammate Jordon Smith joined him on the podium, finishing third overall (5-3) at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Max Anstie finished sixth overall with a 10-4 moto score. Nick Romano had a crash in the second moto and ended the day 18th overall (16-19). In the 250 World All-Stars, the bLU cRU enjoyed a stellar outing with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cole Davies heading an all-Yamaha podium and earning the class championship.
Coming into the final round with a 19-point lead, Deegan showed no signs of slowing down and once again topped the timesheets in 250SMX qualifying. From there, he got a flying start to grab his third-consecutive holeshot and scored his fifth-consecutive moto win in the SMX postseason. In Moto 2, he didn’t get the start he was looking for and found himself sixth on the opening lap. The reigning 250SMX champ went to work and made his way to second, where he would cross the line. His 1-2 moto score secured a runner-up overall finish and kept the number-one plate firmly planted on his YZ250F. It was a stellar sophomore season for Deegan, which saw him claim both the Pro Motocross 250MX and 250SMX SuperMotocross World Championship, as well as a runner-up finish in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Championship.
After qualifying eighth, Smith had a good start to the first moto in fourth and was sixth after the opening lap. He kept pushing and gained a position, riding on to cross the line fifth. Smith got another good start in Moto 2, this time slotting into third, which he held until Lap 4. The North Carolina rider continued to ride a strong pace in fourth and moved back to third with four laps remaining. Smith’s 5-3 score secured third overall and earned a top-five finish in the250SMX Championship.
Anstie continued to work on finding his comfort zone on the hybrid-track format during the practice and qualifying sessions and was 13th in the combined times. He found himself 13th after the opening lap and was shuffled to 15th at the halfway point, but the British rider fought his way forward to 10th. In Moto 2, Anstie got a great start in fourth and continued to battle for position, making his way back to fourth to end the day sixth overall and finish the season eighth in the points standings.
Romano qualified 11th and found himself in the same position after the start of the first moto. The SMX rookie put his head down and made his way to eighth on the opening lap, but ultimately finished 16th. With a less-than-ideal gate pick for Moto 2, Romano found himself 18th after the start and made his way to 12th on the opening lap. Unfortunately, the New Yorker crashed before the halfway mark and rejoined the moto at the back of the field, crossing the line 19th and ending the day 18th overall.
Davies hit the ground running in Las Vegas, topping the timesheets in the 250 World All-Stars class, which showcases the top amateur riders at the SMX World Championship Finals. In the main event, he got a great start in second and quickly claimed the lead. From there, the young rider from New Zealand set a blistering pace to build a comfortable gap up front and take the win by a 5.8-second margin.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager
“The day went awesome. Haiden rode phenomenally and won the first moto, which set us up even better for clinching the championship. Going into the second moto, we knew we needed third overall to get the job done and he finished second overall and won it. We’ve won both of them and are the reigning back-to-back champs, which means a lot to us. Haiden’s been working really hard, so to see it all pay off is great. I’m happy for him and the whole team. Without everyone here, we wouldn’t be able to do this.
“It was great to see Jordon on the podium as well, and to have him finish the season fifth in the championship. Max also had a strong final moto and was eighth in the championship, which is a great start in just a short time with the team. We’re going to celebrate and enjoy this title, and then get back to work to stay on top next season.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #1
“I’m pretty hyped to get back-to-back SMX Championships. I wanted to go six for six with the motos, but the championship was the main goal. I got the holeshot in the first moto and won it. In the second moto, I didn’t get a great start. I just got a little cautious. I made my way to second, and I tried to make a push for Pierce (Brown), but then thought, ‘Maybe I’ve got to chill out. We’ve got a championship to win.’ So I backed it off with four laps to go, and got the title.”
Jordon Smith – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #31
“It’s been a great year. We stayed healthy all year, which was one of my goals. I can’t thank the whole Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team enough. It feels good to be back on the podium and to put in some solid rides. We finally figured out the starts in the last race of the year, which I wish happened sooner, but overall I’m really happy with my riding throughout SMX and to end the season with a top-five in the championship.”
Max Anstie – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #37
“I’m happy to have had the opportunity to race SMX this year and end up eighth overall. Only racing some of the outdoor rounds with the team, it was always going to be a challenge to get the settings dialed. We learned so much and finished up in Vegas with a solid fourth in Moto 2, and sixth overall on the night. I’m looking forward to MXON, which is coming up next.”
Nick Romano – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #511
“It’s not how we wanted to finish the season. It was tough out there today, and I just wasn’t gelling with the track, but we’ll take what we learned from this season and build on it.”
Cole Davies – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #17
“I got off to a good start, made a quick pass on Landen (Gordon), and then pretty much just rode it home from there. I had a few sketchy moments. There were some gnarly shadows so it was difficult to read the jumps, but it was a good race. We’ve made a lot of progress in 2024 and are happy to add the win in SMX.”
