After a wrist injury hindered his Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship hopes, Haiden Deegan is having a breakout year in his sophomore season of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The second-generation rider has claimed four of the first six motos and all three 250 Class overall wins so far this year. Deegan left round three with a 23-point advantage over both Chance Hymas and Tom Vialle, so although there are 16 motos remaining on the schedule, he is the championship favorite in the early going.
So, how does Deegan’s perfect three-for-three in overall wins to start this season compare to other such feats in history? We’re looking at the entire history of the 125 two-stroke/250 four-stroke class here. Spoiler, in the previous eight times it has happened prior to Deegan, all seven riders went on to win the championship!
![Haiden Deegan]()
Haiden Deegan Align Media ![Three straight races, three straight overall wins.]()
Three straight races, three straight overall wins. Align Media
2023: Hunter Lawrence | Honda
On the heels of his maiden title in the U.S.—the 2023 250SX East Region Supercross Championship—the older Lawrence brother carried the momentum from indoors right into Pro Motocross. The #96 machine won the first four rounds en route to his first AMA Motocross title. After winning the first moto at the RedBud National, a first turn crash in moto two caused a DNF that initially looked way worse than it turned out to be. The following round Southwick National saw a mechanical DNF from the Austrailian native, which landed him zero points in the first moto and 13th overall. After Lawrence’s 40-26-8 consecutive moto finishes, rookie Haiden Deegan was suddenly in the championship lead! However, Lawrence bounced back, winning three overalls of the final five rounds to secure the title, while Deegan had a bike malfunction at the Unadilla Naitonal, effectively ending his title hopes in New York.
2022: Jett Lawrence | Honda
After claiming the 2022 250SX East Region Supercross title, the #18 machine backed up his 2021 AMA Motocross title by winning the first four rounds of Pro Motocross. Coincidentally, the first race both brothers lost (Jett in 2022 and Hunter in 2023) was at RedBud MX where they both got ninth overall. In 2002, Jett had a mechanic failure but remained composed through it all. Hunter Lawrence did, though, take the points lead. Jett bounced back by winning the second moto that day at Red Bud and was then able to work his way back around his brother to regain the point lead, and, eventually, the title.
2019: Adam Cianciarulo | Kawasaki
After a crash and heart-breaking way to lose the 250SX West Region Supercross title in Las Vegas, Nevada, Adam Cianciarulo came out swinging and won the first four rounds of Pro Motocross, and five out of the first seven rounds. Cianciarulo’s first loss of that year came at Florida’s WW Ranch Motocross Park on a brutally hot day. The Kawasaki rider’s 5-3 was good enough for third overall as Yamaha’s Justin Cooper finished 2-2 to claim his first career Pro Motocross overall win. Like he did in supercross, Dylan Ferrandis came on strong and gave Cianciarulo a run for his money late in the season, but it was too little too late. Remind you, Cianciarulo had not been an outdoor specialist by any means entering the ’19 season. In fact, the Florida native had not raced MX in almost two years and only had one overall win to his name! But in 2019, Cianciarulo would claim seven moto wins and six overall wins that summer and, as he would later say, the lost SX title fueled him to go next level once the Pro Motocross gates dropped.
![Cianciarulo taking the moto two and overall win at the 2019 High Point National. After a tough way to lose the 250SX West Region Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, Cianciarulo came out swinging for Pro Motocross.]()
Cianciarulo taking the moto two and overall win at the 2019 High Point National. After a tough way to lose the 250SX West Region Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, Cianciarulo came out swinging for Pro Motocross. Rich Shepherd ![Cianciarulo famously counted the overall wins on his finger after crossing the finish line. Prior to that season, he had only one single Pro Motocross overall win. Then, after 4 rounds to start the '19 season, he had five career overall wins.]()
Cianciarulo famously counted the overall wins on his finger after crossing the finish line. Prior to that season, he had only one single Pro Motocross overall win. Then, after 4 rounds to start the '19 season, he had five career overall wins. Rich Shepherd
2004: James Stewart | Kawasaki
James Stewart’s 2004 season—his final in the small-bore class—was not only historic because of his amount of wins that summer but because he was doing so on a KX125 against mostly 250 four-stroke machines! The #259 machine won the first four rounds (winning all eight motos), then got seventh overall at the RedBud National. Apparently, RedBud is a key race for The List this week!
Stewart would rebound and then win the remaining 14 motos AND seven overalls that summer, making him 23 for 24 on moto wins that year!
1999: Ricky Carmichael | Kawasaki
Ricky Carmichael, the eventual GOAT, had a stranglehold on the 125 Nationals for the three seasons he rode them, starting with his rookie campaign which you can read about below. In ’99, he started by winning the first four races overall until a mudder at Budds Creek stopped him, and Tallon Vohland scored the victory.
1997: Ricky Carmichael | Kawasaki
Carmichael had his breakout season as a rookie in ’97 on his #70 Kawasaki KX125, winning the first three overalls with exclamation points. He had just graduated from Loretta Lynn’s the previous summer and had entered just one 125 National (the ’96 finale) prior to this season, and yet he started the year 3-0! Aside from a difficult, muddy High Point National that snapped his streak, RC’s season was a sign of what was to come throughout the rest of his career. That summer, the Florida native would clinch the title one round early, something he eventually did in all ten of his AMA Motocross Championships.
1981: Mark Barnett | Suzuki
Mark Barnett won the first seven (!) overall races of the year and looked to put together an eight-for-eight sweep until a broken collarbone forced him to sit out the finale, already with the title in hand. Check out some more info from “The Bomber” in the Vault’s 1981 intro text:
“Barnett also laid waste to the 125 class outdoors—marking the only time a rider would win both the AMA Supercross title in the premier class (the 125/Lites SX class did not even exist until 1985) and the 125 AMA Motocross title. Barnett swept all seven of the first eight races but missed his shot at a perfect season when he broke his collarbone and could not ride the last round at Carlsbad. That opened the door for Team Honda's Johnny O'Mara to get his first AMA National win. And a Yamaha-supported teenager named Ricky Johnson won his first moto that day on the #212 YZ125.”
1976: Bob Hannah | Yamaha
A relatively unknown rider from the high desert named Bob Hannah went on to become one of the early legends of the sport, starting in 1976. Honda’s Marty Smith was the star of the AMA 125 Nationals, but the “Hurricane” as he became known for his wild demeanor, won the first three overall rounds with his incredible speed and strong work ethic. Hannah would go on to claim Yamaha’s first 125cc AMA Motocross title and would start a run of dominance over some highly successful riders.
