Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan finishes the season with a Moto 2 victory at the Ironman National
MARIETTA, Ga. – August 26, 2024 – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan concluded his championship-winning Pro Motocross season with an emphatic victory in 250MX Moto 2, finishing fourth overall (11-1) at the Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Jordon Smith finished on a high note with his first moto podium of the outdoor season, ending the day fifth overall (3-8). Max Anstie joined his teammates in the top 10, finishing eighth overall with his 13-7 score. Nick Romano was 16th overall (17-14) in the challenging conditions, while rookie Daxton Bennick sat out the final round. The team’s newest addition, Cole Davies, kicked off the weekend in style with an overall victory (2-1) in the Scouting Moto Combine.
Deegan came out swinging at the season finale, topping the timesheets in both sessions. Unfortunately, he did not get off the gate as he had hoped in the first moto and had an early race tip-over as well. Sitting 29th after the first lap, he kept pushing even though he was outside of his comfort zone and crossed the line 11th. Deegan got a much better start in Moto 2 and was sixth after the first lap. The newly crowned 250MX champ quickly went to work and made his way to third on the second lap and then to the runner-up spot a couple of laps later. It was a thrilling battle for top honors, with Deegan making the pass for the lead after the halfway point. After claiming the lead, he rode on to secure his 10th moto win of the season and ended the day just shy of the overall podium in fourth. The Californian heads into the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals in a good position to defend his 250SMX crown, holding the number one spot with an impressive 640 combined points in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross.
After qualifying 11th, Smith got a great start in the first moto from an outside gate pick and was third after the first lap. He rode a strong pace and advanced to the runner-up spot on Lap 10, ultimately finishing third for his best result of the season. In the second moto, the North Carolina rider didn’t get the start he was hoping for and found himself 12th after the first lap but kept pushing in the punishing conditions to finish eighth and secure fifth overall. It was a strong end to his first full outdoor season since 2018, finishing ninth in the 250MX Championship. Smith’s combined efforts in the indoor and outdoor season puts him sixth in the 250SMX points.
Anstie qualified 13th and had a solid start to hold 11th after the opening lap, ultimately crossing the line 13th in the challenging conditions. Despite the less-than-ideal gate pick, the British rider got a great start to the second moto and narrowly missed the holeshot. In fourth after the first lap, he did what he could to maintain the position but would cross the line seventh to end the day eighth overall. Making his debut aboard the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing YZ250F at Round 5, Anstie had a solid return to the Pro Motocross 250MX Championship after a long absence. He heads into the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals 12th in the 250 SMX combined points.
Romano had a strong start to the day with a top-five result in the first qualifying session but ultimately was 17th in the combined times. The 19-year-old got a good start in the first moto despite the less-than-ideal gate pick and was eighth after the first lap. He tried to maintain a top-10 result but was shuffled to 17th in the punishing conditions. In the second moto, he had another solid start and was 14th after the first lap, where he would ultimately finish to end the day 16th overall. The New Yorker sits 16th in the 250SMX combined points. His rookie teammate Bennick qualified 22nd and sat out of the final round of the outdoor season. The 18-year-old from North Carolina heads into the post-season 14th in the 250SMX combined points.
After a strong qualifying for the Scouting Moto Combine in third, Davies didn’t get the start he was hoping for in the first moto and found himself at the back of the field. The young New Zealand rider put his head down and made an impressive charge to a runner-up finish. In the second moto, he got a much better start and quickly moved to second on the opening lap. Davies then claimed the lead on Lap 5 and rode on to secure the overall victory with his 2-1 moto score.
Next up for the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team is Round 1 of the SuperMotocross World Championship Finals at the zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, on September 7.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager
”It was a good finish to the outdoor season. Haiden was the fastest qualifier. He didn’t get a good start and even had a tip-over, but he fought his way back and finished 11th. We made changes to the bike for the second moto, and it was fantastic. It was a commanding win and was actually a really cool race to watch with him and (Tom) Vialle battling back and forth. I’m just proud of the whole team. We’ll enjoy this championship. They are hard to come by. We’re going into SMX with the number one plate and looking to defend that title. We’ll get back to work and look to come out swinging with all of our guys at Charlotte.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #38
“That’s a wrap on the outdoor season. It was a really good season overall. We won the championship, had lots of wins, lots of moto wins, and definitely made a big progression this year in my riding in general. Today was quite a wild one. I didn’t get a great start in the first moto, and I fell on the first lap and came from around 34th to 11th. I just struggled with the setup, so we went back and changed it for the second moto, and it was a lot better. We ripped a start and made our way into the lead with about six laps to go. That was awesome, and now we’re moving on to SMX to defend that title.”
Jordon Smith – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #31
“It was an awesome day, the best day of the season. It was good to finish the outdoor season with a bang. I made a little bit of a risky decision lining up all the way on the outside in the first moto, but it paid off. Then I put in a really good ride and ended up third. I probably should have made the same decision for the second moto with the outside gate, but I felt like the inside was better. It just didn’t work out, but I kept battling and finished eighth. In the end, it was not a bad day, and I’m happy with it. I’m ready for SMX.”
Max Anstie – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #37
“We gathered some good information for next season throughout the few rounds of outdoors I did with the team this year. I ended with an eight overall at Ironman. After my crash last weekend, I was happy enough with that. I’m looking forward to SMX.”
Nick Romano – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #511
“It was an up-and-down day. I was fifth in the first session, which I was super stoked about. Then in the first moto, I started in the top 10, but then kind of just hit a wall. I wasn’t really ready for that pace in the beginning. In the second moto, I started around 10th again. I fought hard and had a group of six in front of me that I was faster than, but I just couldn’t get by them. Like I said, it was an up-and-down day, but I’m happy to finish the season off healthy, which was my main goal at the beginning of the year. It’s on to SMX now.”
Cole Davies – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #17
“It was a good day at Ironman. I was fastest in second qualifying, and I felt good going into the motos. The gates dropped super early in the first one, and I wasn’t ready for it. So I was dead last, but I was able to salvage second in that one and made my way through the pack. In the second moto, I got a decent start, made some quick passes early, and put myself in second. Then I made the pass for first and rode it home from there.”
2024 Scouting Moto Combine Ironman Results
2024 Pro Motocross 250MX Ironman Results
2024 Pro Motocross 250MX Championship Standings
2024 SuperMotocross World Championship 450SMX Combined Points
