Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan expands his lead in the 250MX Championship before Pro Motocross heads into the summer break
MARIETTA, Ga. – July 21, 2024 – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan returned to the top step of the podium at the Washougal National, riding to a 2-1 result aboard his YZ250F at Round 8 of the Pro Motocross Championship. His fifth overall victory of the season and second-consecutive overall victory at the venue further strengthened the Californian’s lead in the 250MX Championship. Max Anstie scored a top-five finish in Moto 1, but unfortunately his second moto ended early with a crash and he finished 13th overall (5-38). Jordon Smith had a great start to the first moto and was running in a podium position, but had some crashes and ended the day 16th overall (11-17). Teammate Nick Romano followed him in 17th overall (18-14), with rookie Daxton Bennick finishing 25th overall (25-22) in his first outing at the Washougal MX Park.
Riders were met with tricky conditions that are unique to the Pacific Northwest track in Washougal, Washington, but one of the biggest challenges this year was getting there. Although travel interruptions brought about by the global IT outage wreaked havoc, the team was there on race day. Deegan had a strong qualifying in third and got a great start after the first gate drop into second. Around five minutes into the moto, the red plate holder had a tip-over but quickly rejoined and moved back into the runner-up position, where he would finish. In Moto 2, Deegan got another great start in the runner-up spot. On Lap 6, he threw down a fast time and made an emphatic pass on his championship rival, then continued to set a blistering pace to score his seventh moto win of the season by a 14-second margin. His fifth overall victory in 2024 also helped strengthen his championship bid, giving him a 54-point lead as the series heads into a two-week break.
In his fourth race with the team, Anstie had a strong qualifying in sixth. Although he didn’t get off the gate as he had hoped in the first moto and was 16th after the first lap, the British rider put his head down and fought his way to a fifth-place finish. Anstie once again went to work in the second moto and was making his way into the top 10 from 14th. Unfortunately, he went off track on Lap 4, and the bike got stuck in a fence. He tried to rejoin but ultimately withdrew and was credited with 38th, ending the day 13th.
After qualifying eighth, Smith had a great start to the first moto and slotted into fourth. Although he was shuffled to fifth, he battled back to reclaim fourth and made his way to third before unfortunately having a tip-over after the halfway point. He rejoined in fifth and was trying to make his way back forward but went down again and would cross the line 11th. In the second moto, the North Carolina rider got caught up in a pileup and found himself 25th after the first lap. Undeterred, Smith put his head down and made his way to 17th in the tricky conditions, ending the day 16th overall.
Romano worked to find his comfort zone in qualifying and ended up 22nd in the combined times. With a less-than-ideal gate pick, the New Yorker didn’t get the start he was hoping for and found himself 23rd after the first lap. He kept pushing and made his way to 18th in the challenging conditions. In Moto 2, Romano got a much better start inside the top 10. Although he was shuffled to 11th on the opening lap, he kept battling and would finish 14th to end the day 17th overall.
Making his Pro Motocross debut at the Washougal MX Park, Bennick worked to familiarize himself with the tricky track. The rookie qualified 18th and then didn’t get off the gate as he had hoped in the first moto and would cross the line 25th. With another challenging start from the 25th gate pick, he fought his way forward but would finish 22nd to end the day 25th overall.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team returns to action on August 10 as racing resumes at the Unadilla National, Round 9 of Pro Motocross and Round 26 of the SuperMotocross World Series, at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager
“Although the weekend didn’t start out well, it was a good day at Washougal. We got torn up with flights and ended up getting in during the wee hours of the morning, but we’re here and we made it all worth it. Haiden qualified well in third and then got decent starts in second in both motos. In the first moto, he made a charge for (Tom) Vialle but felt like the risk for the reward wasn’t there. In the second moto, we made a small change to the bike, and it made all the difference. Haiden was able to reel him in, pass him, and check out. He won the moto and the overall, and we have a 54-point lead going into the break, which is fantastic. It was a tough day for the rest of our guys, and we have some other things to work on. We’ll take this break and make it our advantage and come out swinging at Unadilla. We’ve got three more to go.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #38
“It was a hectic couple of days. We were at the airport Friday from 6 am until 6 pm trying to find flights. We were looking everywhere, and I was going to drive anywhere to get a flight, but they all got canceled. There wasn’t anything left, so we had to get a private jet. We went 2-1 on the day, so it was a good day. The first moto was solid, and then in the second moto, I put the hammer down and built a big gap. That was awesome. I’m happy to keep the Washougal streak going and to get back up on top of the board. We have a 54-point lead heading into a nice two-week break.”
Max Anstie – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #37
“It’s my first time back here at Washougal for a little while. Qualifying went well, and I ended up sixth. In the first moto, the start wasn’t great, but I moved forward. I felt that the way I rode and the strength that I had in that moto was very good. I came through to fifth and was happy with that. In the second moto, I was in about 10th and not feeling too bad, and then I just went off the track in the wrong spot. It wasn’t even that bad. I thought I could get back on track, but I got completely stuck in the fence for two laps, and that was the end of that moto. It was a shame because I felt like, speed-wise, I was on track for a good couple of motos because I was really strong the first moto, but we live and learn. I’m here for this and to get all these things ironed out. I’m excited for the little break to get some work done and come back swinging in Unadilla.
Jordon Smith – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #31
“Qualifying went well. I finished eighth in both sessions and wasn’t too far off the pace. I finally got a good start in the first moto and moved up to third. Then around halfway through the moto, I ended up going down. From there, it was just a terrible day. I went down another three times, two times in that moto, and then got caught up in a pile-up in the second moto and pretty much came back from last to 17th. It was a tough day at the office, but we’ll go get rejuvenated over these next two weekends off and come back swinging at Unadilla.”
Nick Romano – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #511
“It was an okay race day. I struggled a little bit in practice, but we made a lot of bike changes, and it seemed to be better. In the first moto, I got a terrible start and went from around 30th to 18th. In the second moto, I finally got a top-10 start. Then I had a battle with one of the Pro Circuit guys, and I ended up 14th. It’s going to be nice to get a few weeks off, to take a break, reset, and come back stronger at Unadilla.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #59
“It was my first time racing at Washougal. It was definitely a tough one and not the results we were looking for. We’re looking forward to the break and will regroup and come back swinging at Unadilla.”
