Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Strengthens 250MX Championship Bid at Southwick
Haiden Deegan takes over the 250MX points lead, and Justin Cooper gets back in the title chase with a pair of runner-up finishes at the Southwick National / Jul 9, 2023 /
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s 250 team had a strong weekend in Southwick, Massachusetts, with Haiden Deegan taking over the Pro Motocross 250MX Championship lead and Justin Cooper making double-digit gains in the title chase. Deegan ended the day sixth overall with a 4-10 moto score in the challenging conditions at The Wick 338. Cooper led the way for the team with a pair of runner-up finishes for second overall. Levi Kitchen had a solid result inside the top 10, finishing eighth overall (5-9), and rookie Daxton Bennick made progress through the day to finish 14th overall (17-12).
Known for being one of the toughest tracks on the calendar, this year’s Southwick National was no exception, with high temperatures and some rain thrown into the mix. Deegan had a solid qualifying effort at his first pro race at The Wick in ninth. He didn’t get off the gate as he had hoped in Moto 1 and was ninth after the first lap. Undeterred, the Californian put his head down and fought all the way back to fourth. In the second moto, he had another top-10 start and tried to make his way through the pack again, but he also had a tip-over in the challenging conditions and went on to finish 10th for sixth overall. It was an important points haul for Deegan, who leaves Southwick with the red plate and a five-point lead in the 250MX standings
Once again, Cooper put in some fast times in qualifying and was second in the combined times. From there, he got a great start and grabbed the holeshot in the first moto. Cooper was running a strong pace up front but unfortunately had a tip-over a couple of laps after the halfway point and quickly rejoined in second, where he would finish. Although he didn’t repeat his flying start in the second moto, he quickly made his way to fourth and advanced to third before the halfway mark. On Lap 10, he made the pass for second and set his sites on chasing down the leader. Cooper was closing the gap, but before the clock ran out, he had a tip-over and would cross the line in the runner-up spot. His 2-2 moto score on the day earned second overall and gave him a 26-point boost in the championship standings, moving him back into the top five and 22 points behind Deegan.
Kitchen qualified 10th and found himself 10th after the first lap. He put his head down and made his way through to seventh and then broke into the top five in the final laps. In the second moto, Kitchen got another top-10 start and advanced to seventh, but unfortunately had a tip-over and ultimately crossed the line ninth.
In his second Pro Motocross race, Bennick continued to make progress in the challenging conditions at The Wick and qualified 16th. He was 18th after the first lap of Moto 1 and tried to make his way through the pack but ultimately crossed the line 17th. The North Carolina rider got a much better start in the second moto in 14th and made his way to 12th to end the day 14th overall.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team starts making the trek back west to the Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota, on July 15 for round seven of the Pro Motocross Championship and the 24th round of the SuperMotocross World Championship.
Jensen Hendler – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager“Southwick went great for us, with Justin finishing 2-2 for second overall and Haiden leaving with the red plate. Levi went 5-9 for eighth overall. He struggled with his starts and had to fight for it. We will continue to work with him to get better starts. As we have seen with him before, he can win with a start. Daxton had a great weekend as he is gaining experience every time out on track, which is our ultimate goal for him. We’re very excited to go to Millville to continue to fight for the championship!”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“I feel I should have had that one. I crashed leading Moto 1 and then was making a run for the win in Moto 2, and kind of made the same mistake. Overall lots of positives to take away, though. We made up a lot of points with a 2-2 on the day and are kind of back in the thick of things. So really, we just have to look at it that way and go for a win next weekend.”
Haiden Deegan – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“The day started off well. In the first moto, we went from 10th to fourth, which I was happy with. I got a little pinched off at the start, so I was happy to be able to ride the sand and dig through that. The second moto was a bit of a struggle for me. I was just fatigued a bit, so we’ve got to work on that. It’s always good to find some weaknesses that we can work on during the week. We’re leaving with the points lead, so we’re going to keep working and keep pushing forward.”
Levi Kitchen - Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a decent day for me. My speed was pretty good. I just didn’t execute the starts, and falling in the second Moto really set me back. We’ll keep working and move on to the next one.”
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing“It was a good weekend of learning at Southwick. I had some problems in Moto 1 but rode much better in Moto 2. I’m ready to go back to work and get ready for Millville!
2023 Pro Motocross 250MX Southwick Resultshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2330/M2F2PRESS.pd
2023 Pro Motocross 250MX Results Championship Standingshttp://www.americanmotocrossresults.com/xml/MX/events/M2330/M2F2POINTS.pdf
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