After a very impressive rookie season in both Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross, Haiden Deegan was crowned the SuperMotocross World Champion, and took home the $500,000 along with it. It wasn't easy, though, as Haiden was pushed back to fifth in the first moto, which put his title hopes in serious jeopardy. He got the start he needed in the second race, in second place, and somehow his 5-2 finishes carried him to the overall win, and enough points to snag the title.
Hear what the youngster had to say about his championship at the post race press conference.
Haiden, a huge win for you. A lot of work. You thanked your haters on the podium right off the bat. You thanked, obviously, the people who care about you and love you and helped you get here. But I want you to talk about that motivation, the people who have made comments and kind of dig into that a little bit and why you actually thanked them on the podium.
Haiden Deegan: Yeah, man. I don't know, that's how I feel off that stuff. If you doubt me, I'm gonna prove you wrong. That's just how I work. And I'm gonna work hard and I'm gonna work harder than everyone out on the track. That's my goal every time. So that's just kind of how I work.
Haiden you started in Supercross Futures and ended with a SuperMotocross World Championship, thinking back to that moment when you're going to go from futures to pro and you envision how your pro career is going to start and how this year is going to go. Could you have ever imagined it would go this way?No, I couldn't imagine. My goal was the podium, get a podium in an outdoor national my first season and it went from there, to being in a championship fight having a red plate, and now winning my first championship, my rookie season. And, yeah, it's crazy, you've just got to keep building, getting stronger. I'm still young. So, my body's got to fill in a little more and then just up from here.
What was going through your mind there as the minutes ticked over in that second moto and you are on your way to this championship.
Yeah, I can see Jo to my right, and I was like, “We got this, this is close, we got to fight this thing out” because I know Jo, [if] he gets close he's sticking it in there. So, yeah, it was a good race to the end. JCoop is right behind me. And yeah, it was good to have my two teammates, one in front of me and one behind me. That's like your safest bet to try and win a championship. So, it was good.
I remember talking to you in Tampa and I think you were a little surprised at your fourth-place finish in Houston. Then we get to Daytona, maybe a little surprised also with your first podium there. Is there still a little bit of surprise at your rapid move up or is this now becoming second nature to you?
Yeah, it's hard growing up winning in amateurs and stuff and then you come into the pro ranks and you're not winning and you're like, “It just feels more natural to be up front.” So, I think it was just a thing where I just kept working and working and I got to that point where I could win and that was just a comfortable spot. So, I mean, you're not going to win every race, but, I mean, it's possible. Shoot Jett did it. But, you just got to keep working hard and be there every time.
Haiden, this is a weird round where you come into this race with so much back story. So, your dad wins here in '97. He ghost rides the bike. It's immortalized in supercross history. It's one of the craziest things that we've ever seen. He did the first 360 in Freestyle Motocross here. This is like the house that Deegan built when it comes to motorsports and it just kind of felt like there was something that was going to go down here this weekend. Did it enter your mind? Like, “Oh, I’m just going to win this race because this is literally our house.” I mean, I know that it's hard because there's good guys out there and it's not easy to win these races any time, but it had to feel like there was something special going on this weekend.
Yeah, definitely. The Deegan name is big at the L.A. Coliseum. So, the pressure is obviously there because you want to keep that legacy going. So, I kind of had to fulfill it. And after that first moto, I was like, “I might not be fulfilling it” but then I was like, “Well, we got to pick it up,” you know. Duffe [mechanic] was like “Bro, come on, buddy, you're being weak.” So we had to toughen up for that second moto and we were able to keep it going.
So, the Ghost Ride was on everybody's mind if you won. You did win. We didn't see the Ghost Ride. Did the AMA or anyone say anything to you that if you do that you'd get a fine or you'd get dock positions or was there a reason why you didn't do it because we do know you like to send?
Oh yeah, I wanted to ghost ride the bike, but I didn't know I won. I didn't, I thought I got like second overall or third overall because, I just had a fifth in the first moto, so I didn't think I won the race, but then I was like, maybe we'll just save it for when I fully win the race. I still got 5-2, I won the overall but still winning a supercross, that's kind of when it's gonna happen.
Was there any talk with anyone though? Like, around you doing it or no one said anything. It was kind of like you could do what you wanted to do.
No, Jett ghost rode his bike after the finish at Ironman. So, I was like, “Oh, we're chilling.” [Laughs] But we went 5-2 so we didn't do it.
What are you going to do in the next couple of weeks or how long before you're back on a bike?
Yeah, I start training like tomorrow, probably [laughs]. No, just playing. I'll take a few weeks, let the body recover and then it's hammer time. We've got to show up for supercross in 2024. So, we'll take a couple of weeks, you know, racing amateur you freaking racing four races a year, literally. So now I race every weekend for almost a year straight and I'm like, “damn, your body will get more used to it as you keep doing it.” But yeah, recovery is gonna be nice in the next few weeks.
So, any plans for the prize money, half a million dollars?
Yeah, shoot. I gotta be smart with my money. I mean 500 grand is a lot of money, but that stuff will go quick if you're not smart with it. So, we're gonna be smart with that 500 K.
Haiden, with you and your family always in the spotlight, I'm just wondering if, after this, you're gonna get the chance to cool down and relax a bit away from the cameras?
I grew up, since I came out of the hatch, with a camera there. I'm just used to it. I think that's a problem with a lot of people, they get the camera in their face and it's pressure. For me, that's just how it is. I walk outside to get on my bike and there's a filmer filming me. It's just natural, nothing that's new.
