Main image by Mitch Kendra
On Friday before the RedBud National, the first MX Sports Pro Racing Scouting Moto Combine of 2022 took place. Over 20 amateur riders competed in a simulation of what a round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship consists of at the professional level. On top of racing on a national-caliber track, riders also received nutrition and recovery training, and media tips.
Haiden Deegan Mitch Kendra Jayden Clough Mitch Kendra Gage Linville Mitch Kendra Patrick Murphy Mitch Kendra Talon Hawkins Mitch Kendra Mark Fineis Mitch Kendra Daxton Bennick going down in the second turn of the first moto. Mitch Kendra Preston Boespflug Mitch Kendra Daxton Bennick Mitch Kendra Haiden Deegan winning the first moto. Mitch Kendra Haiden Deegan on the podium after the first moto. Mitch Kendra The start of the second moto. Mitch Kendra Haiden Deegan Mitch Kendra Talon Hawkins Mitch Kendra Casey Cochran Mitch Kendra Chance Hymas Mitch Kendra
When the gate dropped on the first moto, Mark Fineis (KTM) grabbed the holeshot ahead of Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) and Chance Hymas (Honda). Daxton Bennick (KTM) went down as the pack exited the second turn. He got up holding his right leg but remounted and took off. Fineis came through in the lead and send LaRocco’s Leap on his KTM 250 SX-F! It allowed him to open up a slight gap on Deegan and Hymas.
The first moto of the RedBud Scouting moto at @RedBudmx is out of the gates! Mark Fineis grabs the holeshot but Haiden Deegan would take over the lead on the first lap! Daxton Bennkck went down in turn one. #ProMotocross#Motocross#MX2022pic.twitter.com/COKL8pHRvR
— Mitch Kendra (@mitch_kendra) July 1, 2022
On the first lap of the race, after the big Hammer jump, Deegan (on the inside) and Hymas (on the outside) swung around the #105 to take over first and second. A few laps in, Deegan began to run away with the lead, then his gap opened up more when Hymas crashed over the finish line jump. Upon remounting, the #21 was outside of the top 12. Fineis was then under fire from Talon Hawkins (Husqvarna). The two were battling back and forth before Hawkins suffered a crash of his own over the finish line jump—afterwards, Hawkins told our Kellen Brauer he had a flat tire happen a lap before, which caused him to wash his front tire on the face off the finish. He remounted and would finish 14th. Yamaha riders Jayden Clough and Gage Linville finished second and third ahead of Fineis. Julien Beaumer (Yamaha) rounded out the top five as Preston Boespflug (Kawasaki) finished sixth. Below are the full results from moto one. Note, the difference in bikes (125 vs four-stroke 250F models) is because of the difference in age.
Yamaha's Haiden Deegan takes the race win in the first Scouting Moto Combine race of the day at @RedBudmx. 📸 #ProMotocross#Motocross#MX2022pic.twitter.com/s8UdH7QeFD
— Mitch Kendra (@mitch_kendra) July 1, 2022
Moto 1 Results
When the second moto started, Hymas went down in the first turn, collecting Patrick Murphy (Yamaha) as well. Deegan and Fineis were both out front once again, with Deegan having an early edge. This time, it was Fineis making a move on Deegan early to take over P1. Deegan fought back and reclaimed the position—and spoiler: he did not look back. Fineis would suffer a crash that bumped him out of the top five. He later had a tip over late in the race before finishing sixth. Out front, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Deegan opened up a gap of over 18 seconds on a battle of Bennick vs Caden Braswell (GasGas). Deegan claimed the race win by over 30 seconds. Braswell made a move late in the race to take away the position, but he went down late on the last lap, handing second in both the race and overall back to Bennick. On his Husqvarna FC 125 two-stroke, Cochran finished third. Hymas made his way to fourth by the checkered flag, Murphy finished 10th. Below are the full results from moto two.
Moto 2 Results
Deegan’s 1-1 easily gave him the overall as Bennick’s 10-2 gave him second overall ahead of Fineis’ 4-6 for third overall. Check out the overall finishes below.
Overall Results
Watch the full highlights from the day below.