Deegan Moves Closer to Crown with Runner-Up Overall Finish at Unadilla
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan adds to his moto win tally and strengthens his 250MX Championship lead at the Unadilla National / Aug 11, 2024 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan continued to expand his 250MX Championship lead at Round 9 of the Pro Motocross Championship, earning a 1-2 moto score to secure second overall at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York. The 250 team’s newest addition, Max Anstie, returned to the podium in Moto 1 with a third-place finish and fought his way back to eighth in Moto 2, ending the day with a top-five finish overall. Jordon Smith finished seventh overall with a 12-6 moto score. Nick Romano and Daxton Bennick finished 13th (13-14) and 14th overall (15-13), respectively.
Deegan had a good start to the Unadilla National, qualifying fourth in the combined times and was fourth after the gate drop of the first moto. Although he was shuffled to fifth early, he made his way back to fourth and rode a smart race in the tricky conditions. After the halfway mark, Deegan closed back in on his teammate and made the pass on Lap 10. He then closed the gap on the rider in the runner-up position and then advanced to second after the race leader crashed. The Californian kept pushing and made the pass for the lead with four laps to go, and rode on to secure his eighth moto win of the season. In the second moto, he got another good start and was riding in third. He advanced to the runner-up spot after the rider ahead went down, and tried to close the gap to the leader. With the big picture in mind, Deegan continued to ride a smart race and finished second, ending the day second overall and leaving with a healthy 70-point lead in the championship with two rounds remaining.
After qualifying eighth, Anstie got a great start to third in the first moto. He was shuffled to fourth but would reclaim third on the opening lap. The British rider rode a strong pace and maintained the position for over half the race distance, but ultimately was passed by Deegan. On the following lap, he moved back to third after the leader crashed, and rode on to secure his second moto podium at his fifth round with the team. In the second moto, he did not get off the gate as he had hoped and found himself 13th after the first lap. Anstie put his head down and battled his way to an eighth-place finish, securing fifth overall.
Smith spent qualifying working to find his comfort zone on track and was 14th in the combined times. From there, he had a good start inside the top 10 and was eighth after the first lap. Unfortunately, the North Carolina rider crashed on Lap 2 and found himself back in 17th. Undeterred, Smith kept pushing and crossed the line 12th. In the second moto, he made his way to eighth on the opening lap and battled for position, ultimately finishing sixth to end the day seventh overall.
Romano had a tough start to the day, qualifying 20th which gave him a less-than-ideal gate pick for the first moto. The New Yorker found himself 16th after the first lap but kept pushing and crossed the line 13th. In the second moto, he was back in 15th after the first lap and continued to jockey for position, ultimately finishing 14th for 13th overall.
After qualifying 16th, Bennick got a great start inside the top 10 in the first moto and advanced to seventh after the first lap. Unfortunately, the rookie has been struggling with arm pump and was ultimately shuffled back to 15th. The North Carolina had another strong start in Moto 2 despite the less-than-ideal gate pick and was 10th. He advanced to ninth on the second lap and continued to battle, ultimately crossing the line 13th to end the day 14th overall.
Next weekend, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team will head to Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland, for the penultimate round of the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship and Round 27 of the SuperMotocross World Series on August 17.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager
“It was a good day at Unadilla. Haiden got off to a pretty good start and qualified fairly well. So going into the motos, we had a good gate pick, got a good start, and won the first moto. In the second moto, he got a better start and was riding in second. He ended up swapping moto wins with (Levi) Kitchen, which at this point in the season, is fine. We have a 70-point lead, so he’s seeing the big picture, which is awesome. Max had another good ride and another podium. We’re looking to keep building on that and keep working with our other guys to finish the outdoor season strong. We’re excited to move on to Budds Creek. We’ll keep working hard, and hopefully we’ll be holding the number-one plate next weekend.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #38
“Today was solid. I qualified fourth and had two awesome starts. I came from around fourth and won the first moto. In the second moto, I got a good start right behind Levi (Kitchen) and rode it in for second. I have a pretty big points lead, so I didn’t want to do anything dumb because this track’s sketchy; it’s really high-speed. I’m happy where we’re at. We have a 70-point lead with two more rounds. Let’s go have some fun at Budd’s Creek.”
Max Anstie – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #37
“It was a solid Moto 1 with a third-place finish and a really good start. We made a lot of big changes during the break and we were definitely in it that first moto. In the second moto, I messed up the start, but I came back through the pack to eighth. It was sketchy out there; it was really fast. So, a solid top five overall and good steps in the right direction. I’m happy with that, but that being said, I definitely want to be on the box at these next two. The mindset has shifted a little bit from the first few, which was to figure out the bike and myself. Now I feel like I’m in a good spot. So it’s just execute and try and be in contention for the top three in these last two, and to keep that momentum going into next year. We’ll keep pushing. We’ll go to work again and build off of it at Budds Creek.”
Jordon Smith – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #31
“It was kind of an up-and-down day. I didn’t qualify the best. I was kind of struggling with the track and a little bit of set up issues. Then I didn’t have a very good first moto. I was in eighth and went down on the second lap and battled back to 12th. In the second moto, I came out decent and battled up to sixth place. Overall, it was not a terrible day, but not where we want to be. I’m just trying to grind it out these last few rounds and get into SMX with some good points and feeling good.”
Nick Romano – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #511
“The home race at Unadilla was pretty good to me. I ended up 13-14, which isn’t great on paper, but from where I’ve been, I’m pretty happy about it. I think I started outside the top 20 in both motos, which is tough. I had to come from the back, which is never great because the roost here hurts, but overall it was a better day. We’re going to go back, test some more this week, and keep putting our best foot forward in these last two races.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #59
“It was a tough start to the day, but I came out pretty good in the first moto and was running seventh or eighth in the first 15-20 minutes of the moto. I’ve been really struggling this year with arm pump, so that hurt me. We’re going to get that fixed before Supercross for sure. Then in Moto 2, my start wasn’t as good, but I did fight my way up to ninth, and I was running 10th for a while. There were some fast guys in the back, and (Joey) Savagty and (Garrett) Marchbanks got me. Overall, it was a better weekend than Washougal. I’m not happy with the result, but I know it will come for sure.”
2024 Pro Motocross 250MX Unadilla Results
2024 Pro Motocross 250MX Championship Standings
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