Haiden Charges Back to Podium Finish at Chicagoland Speedway
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan returned to the 250SMX podium, finishing third overall at the second SMX World Championship playoff round / Sep 17, 2023 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan charged back to a podium finish, ending the day third overall (3-3) at the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff 2 in Joliet, Illinois. Jordon Smith finished sixth overall (10-8) in the challenging conditions at the Chicagoland Speedway. Joining them in the top 10 was Levi Kitchen in eighth overall (6-12). After a crash at the start of the first moto, Justin Cooper rebounded in Moto 2 to end the day 12th overall (17-6).
It was another unique track layout at the second round of the inaugural SMX World Championship, which was made more challenging with rain that arrived during the second qualifying session. After qualifying 13th, Deegan got off to a flying start in the first moto and grabbed the holeshot. He led the race for seven laps and was riding strong in the runner-up spot but ultimately crossed the line third. In Moto 2, the Californian got another good start in the top five. He battled for position and then put the hammer down and made his way up to third after the halfway point, where he would finish to end the day third overall. Deegan heads to next weekend`s SMX World Championship Finals, trailing the points leader by seven points and sitting third in the 250SMX standings with triple the points awarded at the title-deciding round.
Although he was struggling to find his flow in the challenging conditions and qualified 11th, Smith got off to a good start in the first moto in sixth. Unfortunately, the North Carolina rider had a tip-over which shuffled him back to 10th, but he put his head down and crossed the line eighth. In the second moto, Smith was ninth after the start and advanced to eighth but had another tip-over and was shuffled to 11th. He kept fighting and made his way back to eighth to end the day sixth overall and sixth in the 250SMX points standings.
Kitchen hit the ground running and led the way for the team in qualifying with third. He then got a solid start in ninth and worked his way to sixth by the end of the first moto. In Moto 2, the Washington State rider found himself 13th after the start and was making his charge forward before a crash had him rejoining towards the back of the pack. Undeterred, Kitchen fought his way back to 12th to end the day eighth overall. Despite two tough SMX World Championship Playoff rounds, Kitchen sits fourth in the 250SMX Championship heading into the final round.
Cooper also had a solid qualifying in fifth despite the changing conditions. Unfortunately, it was a tough first moto that found him caught up in a first-turn pile-up and on the ground. The New Yorker toughed it out and made his way to 17th. Even though he had a less-than-ideal gate pick, Cooper got a stellar start in Moto 2 and grabbed the second holeshot for the team that evening. He led the first lap but, feeling beat up from that crash in the first moto, was ultimately shuffled back to sixth and ended the day 12th overall.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads west to Southern California for the SMX World Championship Finals at the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 23.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager“It was definitely tough out there, but our guys kept working in these changing conditions. Come race time, our guys got some great starts, with Haiden getting the holeshot in Moto 1 and Justin coming back to grab the holeshot in Moto 2. Haiden had two solid motos, a 3-3 for third overall, and is in a good position for the championship going into the final round.
“Jordon kept making progress throughout the day and got two good starts, but a couple of tip-overs hurt him. He kept fighting though, and ended the day sixth overall. Levi had a great qualifying in third and was eighth overall. Justin, unfortunately got caught up in a first-turn crash and was a little beat up, but he bounced back to grab the holeshot and salvaged some points to finish 12 overall with his 17-6 score.
“We were hoping for better, but overall it was a good day in these tough conditions. We’ll go back to work this week and come back swinging in LA.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“Today we just lacked speed a little bit, which happens. We’re still learning this year, but next year, that’s not acceptable. We were able to get a third today, which isn’t the ideal situation, but there are definitely a lot of highs and lows people don’t see outside of the races, and we made work of what we were dealt with today. Now it`s every man for himself at the last round. We are one of three guys that can win it, so it’s going to be exciting.”
Jordon Smith – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“I struggled all day to find the right setup, and with the changing track conditions, that made it even more difficult. When it came race time, I stepped it up and rode pretty well. It was just a fall in each moto that kept me out of that front group. I ended up sixth overall, which wasn’t too bad considering, so we will get ready for the more Supercross conditions next week in LA!”
Levi Kitchen - Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“I gave it my all but fell very short of my goals. My speed was very good, and to the point that I felt I could’ve battled for a win, but unfortunately, I never put myself in the position to do so. I’m ready to give it everything I have again next weekend!”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a tough one. I qualified pretty well and felt pretty good on the track. In the first moto, I got caught up in a pileup, and my arm got pretty banged up. Someone ran it over, so from there I rode through the pain in the first moto. In the second moto, I somehow got a holeshot, so that was really nice. I led a few laps and then dropped back to sixth. It wasn`t the best, but at least we are out of here in one piece, and we can try to recover a little bit for next weekend.”
2023 SuperMotocross World Championship 250SMX Chicago Results
2023 SuperMotocross World Championship 250SMX Combined Points
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