Haiden Deegan and Cooper Webb Build Momentum at Southwick
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan returns to the podium in third overall, with Cooper Webb finishing sixth overall at The Wick / Jul 14, 2026 /
In the thick of summer, the Pro Motocross Championship reached its halfway point in the legendary sands of Southwick. For the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 squad, it was a day of personal bests at one of the most physically demanding tracks on the calendar – The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts. After scoring a career-best premier-class moto finish in Moto 2, rookie Haiden Deegan returned to the podium, finishing third overall (3-2), while Cooper Webb earned his best result of the season, finishing sixth overall with a 10-6 score.
Deegan qualified fifth and had two great starts to his motos. He was third in Moto 1, where he rode a good pace to comfortably secure his sixth moto podium finish. In Moto 2, Deegan did one better and slotted into the runner-up spot. It was a three-rider fight, with Deegan in between the Lawrence brothers. The lead trio stayed within striking distance of one another, but ultimately, on Lap 5, Jett passed him, and Deegan ran his own race, maintaining a gap on Jorge Prado. Then, with just under five minutes on the clock, Hunter went down, and Deegan returned to the runner-up spot. In the final laps, Prado closed in, but the six-time 250 class champion continued to push and held on to second, scoring a personal best in the class. The runner-up finish was also what he needed to secure the final spot on the overall podium, his third of the season.
“Today was good,” said Deegan. “We tried a new setup in the first session, and I didn’t like it, so we ended up going with what we knew and liked for the second qualifying, and it was a whole lot better. I had great starts today – P3 in the first start and P2 in the second start – so they’re getting better, and the bike is too. Moto 1 was a good ride. I kept on digging as much as I could. Then Moto 2 was a dog fight. I get mad because I probably should have won that race. I shouldn’t have let Jett (Lawrence) by, but again, I’m here to learn. I’m trying not to do anything stupid because this year is kind of about building the foundation. I finished P2 in the second Moto for third overall, so it was a good day. I’m continuously getting better. We’ll keep working.”
For Webb, it was a gritty ride that saw him earn his best result of the season despite not feeling 100% while recovering from an illness. After qualifying 13th, he got a great start to Moto 1 in sixth, and although he dropped to 11th in the opening laps, he worked his way back into the top 10 in the end. Moto 2 was another good start from Webb, as the three-time 450SX Champion was back in sixth, and then into fifth four laps in. He later dropped back to sixth before the halfway mark, but maintained a gap to secure sixth and end the day sixth overall.
“My last Southwick was a dig, to say the least,” said Webb. “This place is gnarly, but I had my best overall yet with sixth overall, so I’m stoked on that. Once again, I had great starts and two solid motos. The first one, I struggled a little bit. Then we had a good bike change for the second one, and I felt really good. I ran up to the top five for a while, then made my way to sixth and kept it there. I’m really happy with that. I’m still a little under the weather, so it was definitely a dig. Southwick is no joke – it was hot and rough.”
“It was a good day here at Southwick,” said Rich Simmons, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 450 Team Manager. “Qualifying went well for both guys. They got better in the second one, which wasn't faster, but it's always good to be better when the track's rougher. It gives us an idea of what we're going to race and where we stand going into the motos. Then, two good starts by Haiden. I think it’s a big improvement there with consistent starts. He ran a good pace in both motos until about that 20-minute mark, and then regrouped in the second moto. It was a really good push to finish that one off and keep Prado at bay. For Webb, the goal was a fifth-place overall coming into this race. I think his sickness kind of set us back last week, but he's getting closer to that goal. His starts again were consistent, which is always good to see. So we'll just keep building off this. I’m proud of both guys and the team. We’re looking forward to next weekend.”
Now it’s on to Round 7 of Pro Motocross and Round 24 of the SuperMotocross World Championship at the Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota, on July 18. Deegan heads into the second half of the season, remaining steady in third in the 450MX standings, while Cooper Webb maintains the runner-up spot in the SMX 450 championship combined points.