Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 250SX East Team Score Double Podium at Atlanta Supercross
Jordon Smith and Haiden Deegan finish second and third, respectively, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway to give the 250SX East Team its fourth double podium of the season / Apr 16, 2023 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Jordon Smith bounced back to take a runner-up finish at yesterday’s seventh round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Championship in Hampton, Georgia. Joining Smith on the podium in third for the team’s fourth double podium in the class this year was his rookie teammate Haiden Deegan. Nate Thrasher was on course for another top result at the Atlanta Motor Speedway but unfortunately had a big crash in the main event and did not finish.
After a tough round in Detroit, Smith bounced back after the Eastern Regional 250SX break with a strong performance in front of family and friends who made the short drive from North Carolina. He qualified third and got a good start in his heat race to finish second behind his teammate Thrasher. Smith got another good start in the main event in third and passed Deegan on Lap 4 to claim the runner-up spot. From there, he put in some fast times and rode his own race in the challenging conditions to finish comfortably in second for his fourth podium of the season.
Deegan continues to impress and make progress at every round. He qualified third in the first session and ultimately was sixth on the combined timesheets. In the first heat race of the day, the rookie grabbed the holeshot and set a blistering pace up front to build a comfortable lead. Unfortunately, he made a mistake and went down, but he still managed a fourth-place finish. In the main event, he got another flying start to take his second holeshot of the day and the third for the team. Although he was passed by the series points leader shortly after, Deegan reclaimed the lead after the frontrunner went off track. He continued to battle but ultimately was shuffled to third, where he would finish. Deegan’s third podium during his debut season also advanced him to the runner-up spot in the points standings.
Thrasher also considers the Atlanta Supercross his home race, with many fans from his hometown of Livingston, Tennessee, in attendance. He was in top form straight away and was the fastest qualifier. Thrasher then grabbed the holeshot in his heat race to lead from start to finish. In the main event, he didn’t get the start he was hoping for and found himself back in seventh, but he quickly made his way to fourth to join the lead group on the first lap. Unfortunately, Thrasher had a big crash on Lap 8 and was evaluated on-site by the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit. He sought further evaluation at a local hospital and an update will follow at a later date.
Next weekend the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team heads north to East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the East-West Showdown at the MetLife Stadium. Round 14 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and SuperMotocross World Championship also features another Supercross Futures race.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager
“The day started out great in qualifying with Nate first, Jordon third, and Haiden sixth. Haiden got a great start in the first heat and led some laps before making a small mistake and going down. He regrouped and was able to finish fourth. Jordon and Nate were in the second heat, where they started out front and were able to finish 1-2, which was great.
“With great gate picks going into the main, they all three started out in the lead group with Haiden out front with the holeshot. Unfortunately, Nate made a small mistake in the whoops and ended up going down and was unable to continue. He will undergo further evaluation, and we will have an update to follow.
“Jordon and Haiden ended up finishing the race on the podium in second and third. So overall, leaving a tough Atlanta track with two guys on the podium is great. We will continue to fight for the top spot!”
Jordon Smith – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
“Yeah, it was a good day and a really good bounce back from a rough weekend in Detroit, so I’m really happy to come away with second. I’m really excited about my riding today. I felt like it was some of my best of the year, and I felt really solid. The team did a good job. We made some changes to the bike, and they worked really well. The track was gnarly. It could get you in an instant, so you had to be very precise.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing
“It was a good day. I had a good qualifying and was third in the first one and ended up sixth. In my heat race, I was leading until halfway, when I hit neutral off the on-off. So I threw that one away, but I was able to finish fourth. I had the eighth gate pick for the main event, and from there, I pulled the holeshot on the outside like I did in the heat race. My starts have been dialed, which I’m happy about because I’ve been working hard on those. The whoops were also dialed the whole race. It wasn’t crazy speed, but I was consistent every lap, which is what I’ve been looking for because I feel like you can lose time quickly if you're not consistent. We’re just slowly getting better and better. It feels great to get another podium and surreal to be second in the points during my rookie season.”
2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX Atlanta Results
https://results.amasupercross.com/xml/SX/events/S2365/S2F1PRESS.pdf
2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX East Championship Standings
https://results.amasupercross.com/xml/SX/events/S2365/2EF1POINTSPOSITION.pdf
