Main image by Mitch Kendra
Haiden Deegan
Haiden Deegan had an up and down day in his professional debut at the 11th round of the 2022 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Ironman Raceway. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider qualified 16th overall in his first Pro Motocross event, then was inside the top 15, running a solid 11th place, late in the first moto when he tried a difficult line after Duck’s Truss, in the top section of the track. Deegan tried to bunny hop a line but did not get his rear wheel over the jump fully, sending the #438 machine flipping forward, slamming Deegan to the ground. Since he only completed 13 full laps, he was credited with 34th officially. Check out his crash below, caught on film by Conner Schmude (@slowie_films on Instagram):
Photographer Charlie Burgess (AKA his Instagram “@DiffySmooth”) caught the end of the crash as the YZ250F bike crested the top of the following jump without Deegan aboard.
Deegan got up and was carted off the track on the Alpinestars medical cart, but was expected to lineup for the second moto.
Haiden Deegan takes a ride on the Alpinestars medical cart after crashing out of his first professional moto at @IronmanRaceway. 📸 #ProMotocross#Motocross#MX2022#2022Ironmanpic.twitter.com/I4UyTcMLFo
— Mitch Kendra (@mitch_kendra) August 27, 2022
Off the start of the second moto, Deegan and a few other riders collided in the third turn and the #438 was slow to get up. He eventually remounted dead last before getting going again—but then he was rolling. He made up a ton of time to catch the rider in 38th then clicked off a bunch of passes before eventually taking the checkered flag in 24th. His 34-24 scored him 31st overall officially, but despite not scoring points in either moto, it was a strong showing. Deegan said the following on his day in a post-race release from the team:
“It started off well in the first moto and just tried to work through the pack a little bit, and I felt like I was riding super well. I lost my rear brake on the second lap, though, which was unfortunate, but I felt like I was flowing and could run the speed with those guys. I made a little rookie mistake trying to do a little double and went over the bars. That was it for the moto. I was a little banged up but lined up for the second moto and ended up getting taken out a little past the start. From there, I just tried to make my way back up through the pack. It was a big learning experience for me, and I know what I need to work on to get into the top 10.”
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager Jensen Hendler said:
“For Haiden, we learned a lot this weekend. The whole point of bringing him in was to gain experience. It is good for him to learn the everyday workings of a professional class, from the schedule to racing. I think we all took away what we wanted from this first race.”
It was expected Deegan raced the Ironman National and that was it, but now, Yamaha has confirmed he is in fact racing this weekend’s finale as well.
Chance Hymas
Following a tough week at the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch where he finished 15-5-6 for 9th overall in Open Pro Sport and 4-6-6 for 6th overall in 250 Pro Sport, Honda HRC’s Chance Hymas announced his pro debut was put on hold. The Idaho native said he would be taking “this time to get myself back to 100%.”
Hymas competed in the MX Sports Pro Racing Scouting Moto Combine event at RedBud in early July, finishing 11-4 for eighth overall, and then competed again in the combine event the day prior to the Ironman National, finishing 1-1 for first overall.
Now, in Honda HRC’s post-race press release following the Ironman National, the team confirmed Hymas will in fact be making his pro debut at the final around. Here is what the press release said:
“The Ironman round featured a Scouting Moto Combine competition for top amateur riders, and Honda’s Chance Hymas qualified on top and swept both moto wins. The Idaho native is planning to make his pro debut in the 250 class during the AMA Pro Motocross finale at Fox Raceway.”
Hymas is set to make his pro debut at the 12th round aboard a #832 Honda CRF250R. Hymas, recently #21 with Honda HRC, raced as #832 for several years as an amateur because that was the number his dad ran as a young amateur racer, so it is neat so see him making his debut in a number that has significant importance to him.
Read: How Motorcycles Shaped Chance Hymas’ Youth & Hopefully His Future
