It has been a rough couple of weeks in AMA Pro Motocross for Haiden Deegan. If this is the worst he's going to deal with this season, though, it's really not that bad. First, RedBud marked the first time this season where he finished off the box in fifth overall. Then in the first moto at Spring Creek, while leading he went down in the turn before the finish.
We have seen Deegan make slip ups before or get bad starts and charge his way up to the front. So, it was a little surprising when the end of the moto came, and he was not able to close in on Tom Vialle in second or Levi Kitchen in the lead. Afterwards at the post-race press conference he admitted:
“Yeah, it was difficult because I was like, ‘I can catch these guys, but I can't right now because my arms are so pumped up.’ I never had arm pump that bad in my life and it was, I think, from the from the hills.”
This may have been the first time Deegan wasn't the strongest at the end of each moto. Then in the second moto, Deegan fell into some mud, literally, during a tangle with Chance Hymas' foot in the first turn. For a moment it looked like a disaster, but Deegan somehow came out smelling like roses by the end of the moto.
“Yeah, I ripped a fat start, it was actually kind of sick. I came out of the gate perfectly, my bike hooked up and I launched out and yeah me and Chance [Hymas] came together, and I ended up going down. And actually, the way I fell, it put my body in a good spot where I didn't get run over. I was right behind my bike, and I literally was just watching everybody get stuck in my bike. It was crazy. But yeah, I got going again. My pipe was pretty much sticking out the other side of my bike, so I had to kick it back in and I knew it was a mud race so everyone was going to be going a little slower than usual. So, I had to just do perfect laps. I didn't want to make any mistakes. And, yeah, I made my way all the way up to fourth or fifth, I don't even know, I think it was fourth or fifth, but ended up getting second overall.”
Faced with bad luck for the second week in a row, with a banged-up bike, Deegan was still able to gain points on all of his main championship contenders, except Levi Kitchen who swept both motos. Hymas, who slid out in the first turn and dabbed his foot which initiated Deegan’s crash, had to pull off and into the medic rig with a sprained ankle. Jo Shimoda was also in the wreck, and after pulling into the mechanics area twice to tend to his bike (even changed a wheel), he called it a day as he was two laps down. Tom Vialle looked like he was going to be the beneficiary of the first turn pileup as he didn’t go down and stood to gain easy points. But then he crashed in the sand rollers and found himself in the mechanics area as well. Even Ty Masterpool, who won the High Point overall and a moto at RedBud, went down in the first turn and was only able to salvage a tenth. So somehow, with all that bad luck, and going 3-4 on the day, Deegan was still able to get second overall and gain championship points.
“Yeah, I'm just praying to have a good day here soon. I just keep getting these mistakes or these, honestly, these unlucky things happening to me. But honestly, it's just, you're learning these things this year and since I have such a big points gap, it's like you don't go down, you don't really overthink it too bad. You just kind of get back doing your laps. But it definitely sucks. So hopefully at Washougal, the next round, I can go do what I did last year. That'd be nice. And I'm sure Levi will be quick there too. It's his spot as well.”
Haiden is referring to Washougal 2023 where he went 1-1 on the day for the first time in his young career. Levi Kitchen, who is from Washougal, is now second in points, though 51 points back. While Levi will be hard to beat at his home track, Deegan is not one to sit back and play the points game.
“It's hard though because no matter what the points gap is, I still want to win each weekend. And I was doing good the first moto, I made that mistake. I'm the most comfortable when I'm up front, but I also have that ability to come or charge from the back and make passes and make my way back up to the front, like I did in that second moto. But I mean, overall, you just want to be up front.”
So, is Deegan unlucky to find himself going down in the second moto, or lucky that he was still able to stretch his points lead after that gnarly crash? It is said that riders make their own luck, and one simply does not gain a 51-point advantage on sheer luck alone without some serious skill to back it up.
