Haiden Deegan Extends Podium Streak at Washougal
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan scores third consecutive overall podium aboard the YZ450F, with teammate Cooper Webb joining him in the top 10 at Washougal / Jul 28, 2026 /
Haiden Deegan continues to check boxes in his rookie 450MX season. First fastest qualifier? Check. First holeshot? Check. Another overall podium? Check. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider added all three to the list at Washougal MX Park, overcoming an early crash in Moto 1 to finish fourth and scoring second in Moto 2 to earn third overall, his third consecutive overall podium. His teammate Cooper Webb also battled through a challenging day to finish ninth overall with a pair of ninth-place finishes at Pro Motocross Round 8 in Washougal, Washington.
Deegan's focus this season has been on laying the foundation for success in the premier class. Although it wasn't the win the six-time 250 class champion has been chasing, the rookie added a couple more building blocks at Washougal, earning his first fastest qualifier honors and grabbing his first 450MX holeshot aboard the YZ450F.
Unfortunately, shortly after that holeshot to Moto 1, Deegan found himself on the ground in the second corner, putting the 20-year-old at the back of the field. Undeterred, he mounted an impressive comeback, breaking into the top 10 by Lap 3. Deegan continued his charge through the field and was through to fourth a couple of laps before the halfway mark, where he would ultimately finish.
In Moto 2, Deegan got another good start in third and kept the Lawrence brothers in sight through the opening laps before losing some ground to the frontrunners. When Jett Lawrence went down with around nine minutes remaining, Deegan once again had his rival in sight and continued to push all the way to the checkered flag. He crossed the line third to secure third overall, and was later credited with second in the Moto 2 results after Jett was assessed a one-position penalty. Deegan’s third consecutive overall podium also marked his fifth of the season, and he heads into the break maintaining third in the championship.
“Today was good,” said Deegan. “I got my first-ever P1 in qualifying, so I was happy about that. And then I pulled a holeshot, my first ever in the 450 class, but then I went down. So it wasn’t too great of a first moto, but I just dug my way back up to fourth and put myself in a position where I could get on the podium.
“In the second moto, I rode a good race, fought all the way till the end, and had some good battles. I ended up getting second in that moto due to Jett (Lawrence) getting docked for going off the track or whatever, so I was stoked. Third overall and another podium – these are good. We’ll just continue to get some podiums, and eventually, it’d be nice to get that win.”
Although he wasn’t gelling with the track, Webb made improvements with a much better second qualifying session and was 12th in the combined times. In Moto 1, he got a great start and slotted in behind his teammate. In the chaos of the first lap, he was shuffled back to fourth, where he rode for the first six laps before being passed by his hard-charging teammate, Deegan. As the race wore on, he dropped further back to ninth, scoring another top-10 result. In Moto 2, Webb didn’t get off the gate as he had hoped and found himself 16th, but quickly made his way to ninth on the opening lap. He then closed in on Mikkel Haarup and Jordan Smith and continued to fight the whole moto, ultimately crossing the line once again in ninth and ending the day ninth overall.
“It was a bit of a struggle,” said Webb. “It was up and down in qualifying. The first qualifier wasn't very good, but the second one was pretty good, and I ended up seventh. In the first moto, I got a really good start, but I kind of struggled with the flow. My riding was not very good at all, and I ended up ninth. So that was a bummer.
“Then in the second one, we regrouped. I was feeling pretty good, ready for redemption. Then the guy next to me on the start kind of flinched, and I flinched too, almost hit the gate, and just had a terrible start. I made some passes and got into that group that I've been in and had a gnarly battle the whole moto with (Mikkel) Haarup and Jordan (Smith), for basically that eighth place spot, and ended up ninth. My riding was better, but overall, it was just kind of one of those weekends where I wasn't really gelling with the track, and my riding just wasn't quite there. We will regroup, use this break to kind of recharge the batteries, and come back swinging for the last three.”
“Starting with Haiden, it was a really good qualifying day for him,” said Rich Simmons, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 450 Team Manager. “He was P1 in the first qualifier and first overall. Then he executed a great start, but unfortunately went down going into the second turn. He's gone down after the start in three of the last four races, so it’s not ideal, but a good ride from him to come back. He passed into fourth around halfway, which is pretty impressive, and salvaged an overall podium. The second moto was pretty good. We wanted to get a moto win here today, or have an opportunity at an overall, but unfortunately, we weren't in the position to do that. So we’ll keep working on that, but I feel like we made some gains there.
“For Webb, it was another solid weekend. I don't think he really gelled with the track that much. We will just keep building with him, but I think it was a decent day overall. It's getting towards the end of the season, but we'll just keep working at getting the results we’re looking for.”
With three rounds remaining of the outdoor season, both Deegan and Webb are in a good position for the postseason, with Webb sitting in the runner-up spot in the SMX 450 Combined Points. Despite racing in the 250 class during Supercross, Deegan's strong rookie 450MX campaign has propelled him up the SMX 450 standings, leaving Washougal in a tie for 10th.
In three weeks’ time, the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing squad returns to action for Round 9 of Pro Motocross and Round 26 of the SuperMotocross World Championship, at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, New York, on August 15.