Haiden Deegan solidified himself as the top dog in the 250 East/West Showdown this past weekend in Birmingham, Ala., at Protective Stadium. However, a penalty removed his win and gave it to second-place finisher Cole Davies.
In an East/West showdown, the best racers in each divisional class go head-to-head. This was the first of three showdowns this year.
After a few weeks of 450 class training, Deegan was back on a 250 and a difference could be seen. Training in the 450 class is different from 250 class because of the difference in bikes. The 450 has a larger engine, so it needs to be ridden differently.
Deegan said he had to fix his starts on his 250, and his starts were not up to his standard during the night. He was 10th going into the first corner, which is lower than he was for any other race this season.
He was able to rally within the 15-minute race, and with a minute and 40 seconds left in the race, he passed Davies for the lead.
He had the fastest lap of the race, and he went on to win with a four-second lead.
But after the race, the American Motorcyclist Association reviewed a move made by Deegan in which he crossed lanes while entering a split-lane section. The sanctioning body went on to penalize Deegan, taking away his win and ending his five-race winning streak.
Deegan was spotted post-race having a conversation with AMA officials, but the penalty was upheld.
“Everyone knows I won,” he said in a post-race press conference. “I run over a marker and get penalized, but I kicked everyone’s butts straight up”
Davies said the win was a gift to him and that Deegan was the real winner on Saturday night.
Deegan and the rest of the West Coast racers go back to a weekend break, before the next East/West Shootout on April 4.
In the 450 class, Hunter Lawrence’s confidence continued to grow, as he won his third 450 Supercross race. He has now won the past three out of four races.
The championship fight is boiling down to Lawrence and veteran Eli Tomac. Lawrence still holds a nine-point lead over Tomac. However, one bad race from either of the racers could shake up the standings.
Ken Roczen is third in the title fight and was able to gain some points, as he finished second while Tomac placed third on the night.
Lawrence got in the lead by the end of the first lap and was able to run away with the win.
The third SMX Next race took place this weekend and 16-year-old Vincent Wey won the main event. Second place went to Texas native Kade Johnson, and third place had ClubMX Yamaha racer Ryder Malinoski.
This weekend, racing shifts up to the Northeast in Detroit at Ford Field. Qualifying starts at 1 p.m. Eastern and the racing action kicks off at 7 p.m. With 10 of 17 races completed, champions will be crowned in the upcoming months.
