Deegan Takes Title!

Haiden Deegan has only been off the podium in two motos and he’s only been outside of the top five in one moto this summer, making it extremely hard for the competition to gain points on the young star. The 2024 Budds Creek National is the penultimate round of the 2024 Pro Motocross season, and with a 70-point lead, Haiden is looking to wrap up this Championship one race early. The Budds Creek National is highly rated amongst the pro riders as one of the best tracks on the circuit, and the track is extra technical today with the rain we got earlier this morning.

Haiden Deegan had already clinched the Championship in the first moto and he started on the very inside gate again, but this time he got pinched off coming off the gate and was dead last coming into the first turn, just like Chase Sexton in 450 moto 1. However, Haiden wasn’t as quick to make passes on the first lap, he was in 11th place after five and a half minutes of racing. Levi Kitchen grabbed the holeshot and he led early. Chance Hymas passed Jalek Swoll for a second and quickly caught up to the backside of Levi Kitchen who explained on the podium after the first moto that he’s been sick all week, not riding in between Unadilla and Budds Creek.

Closing in on the halfway point, Haiden was running tenth, stuck behind his teammate Nick Romano. Being that Haiden had already wrapped up the title, you could tell that he didn’t have the same fight in him for moto 2. The second moto has been much better for Levi Kitchen, Chance caught up to him five minutes into the race, and Levi held him off despite lots of challenges from the HRC Honda rider. Impressively, Levi was able to hold Hymas off and go on to win the moto and the overall with 3-1

Red Bull TKO

Following a three-week summer break, the riders are back as the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship travels to the United States with the Red Bull TKO to begin the second half of the season with Round 5.

An event in stark contrast to the previous two races, it culminates with an intense day of racing where competitors must advance through numerous heats to reach the final.

Tomac Is Back

After missing the first nine rounds of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship with a thumb injury, Eli Tomac is making his season debut this weekend at the Budds Creek National. Despite making his first start of the summer in a strong and competitive field, the Colorado native would be okay with returning to action and working back up to speed, even if off the podium, right? Nope!

“Oh yeah, I would not be happy with a fourth or a fifth!” Tomac told us Friday. “Definitely shooting for a podium, yeah, that’s our mindset. Try and get some good starts.”

“You know, I don't know, it's hard to put a number on it because I haven't been out on the track with the guys,” he continued on whether or not he is fully back up to speed yet. “So, obviously we'll find out tomorrow, but it's so good to be back here and, yeah, just be back at the races.”

Tomac told us he's ridden 30-plus minutes at home for a few weeks, so he's ready, physically, but obviously racing is different.

Well, there you have it. Tomac is excited to be back—he did crack a few smiles during the media sessions on Friday—but he is coming out swinging with a podium finish in mind.

Eyes were already the eventual Hall-of-Famer for his return, but now his riding this weekend—and next weekend at Ironman Raceway—will be viewed under a microscope by the AMA and Team USA for the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. Racer X learned earlier this week a lineup for Team USA would not be coming until after the Pro Motocross finale in order for the team to get two solid looks at Tomac after his thumb injury. Remember, Tomac was an integral part of Team USA’s win back in 2022 on home soil in Michigan. He missed racing for the team last fall due to his Achilles tendon injury that sidelined him from May 2023 until the 2024 Anaheim 1 Supercross season opener but has expressed interest in racing this year’s event in the United Kingdom.

Sexton Tops Unadilla

Split moto wins lands Sexton on top at Unadilla

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Section: Competition Post: Kellen Brauer

Lawrence wins a moto, but Sexton wins the battle in New York.

Image: Octopi Media.

It was another overall victory for Red Bull KTM’s Chase Sexton on Saturday as he claimed the Unadilla National for his fifth win of the year. Sexton split motos with Hunter Lawrence on the day which broke up a seven moto win streak, but he kept his championship lead strong.

Team Honda HRC’s Lawrence rode the new 2025 Honda CRF450R to victory in the first moto as he outdueled Sexton for the win. Sexton holeshot the second moto and pulled out a large gap in the lead during the opening 10 minutes of the race and was unheralded from there.

Many riders hit or nearly hit the gate off the start in the second moto and Lawrence had a rare bad start because of it. He still charged all the way up to second as he passed Phoenix Racing Honda’s Dylan Ferrandis on the final lap of the moto to secure a 1-2 finish on the day.

Red Bull KTM’s Aaron Plessinger ended up P3 overall with a 3-4 day and he also suffered from a bad start in the second moto. It was a strong P4 for Ferrandis as his P3 in the second moto was his best result all year and the former champion looked much more like himself.

Rounding out the top five was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson who put together a consistent 5-5 day.

Behind them, it was Justin Cooper (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) in sixth, Ken Roczen (Progressive Ecstar Suzuki) in seventh, Christian Craig (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) in eighth, Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Husqvarna) in ninth, and Grant Harlan (Rock River Yamaha) in 10^th.

Sexton’s points lead remained the same as it was coming in following the day of racing as he still holds a 28 points advantage over Hunter Lawrence with two rounds to go.

Will WSX Survive?

Seven start-up teams remain after three exit WSX series

The 2024 world championship continues to take shape.

Seven full-time teams have been named for the 2024 World Supercross Championship (WSX) after three of the previously-licensed organizations exited the series and no replacements were reached.

WSX will continue with both WSX and SX2 classes when it opens in Canada on October 26, despite speculation initially that its restructuring would result in the 250 class being slashed. It has taken ongoing negotiations to get the teams in place.

Two of the American-based teams – ClubMX and MDK Motorsports – and the Gariboldi-led Honda Nils program have all abandoned plans to contest WSX, leaving Pipes Motorsports Group, Fire Power Honda, Craig Dack Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Bud Racing, MotoConcepts Racing and Team GSM as the lone series regulars.

“With seven world-class teams confirmed for our upcoming season, 2024 is shaping up very, very nicely,” said Tom Burrell, SX Global CEO. “Alongside the return of our reigning two-time world champion, Ken Roczen, we have a long list of riders that we’re excited to reveal, including some new names and the return of some very familiar faces from past seasons.”

There will continue to be four riders per team – two riders per class – for a total of 28 full-time riders, plus four wildcard entries per event. HBF Park in Perth, Australia, will be next on November 23-24, before the season will then conclude at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on December 4.

Levi Rips a 2 Stroke

Levi Kitchen on a Mitch Payton Two Stroke

Hunter Hangs In!

Tough week for the Lawrence brothers. First Jett Lawrence, the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Champ, was sidelined due to a thumb injury in the week leading up to RedBud. Then his brother, and points leader, Hunter Lawrence went 2-4 for third overall and lost the points lead to Chase Sexton who went 1-1.

A disappointment for sure, losing the points lead, but Hunter, who is a rookie to the 450 class this year, is wise beyond his years when it comes to handling disappointment. In the post-race press conference, he stated:

“I don't know, I've been on the highs and been on the lows, been on the emotional ride and it doesn't serve you well as an athlete," he said. "So, yeah, just self-evaluate everything. Okay, head down, bum up, you go for a good start. Okay, you get around the first turn first. Okay, this is the plan. Second moto you don't get around the corner too great and then you're like, “Alright, this is the, the game plan.” So, it's just kind of always adapting to whatever situation you're put in, you know, and at the end of the day I just do my best and if it's good enough then sweet, but if it's not, we just keep working and hopefully we'll get there.”

“I don't know, I've been on the highs and been on the lows, been on the emotional ride and it doesn't serve you well as an athlete." -Hunter LawrenceAlign Media

Speaking of ups and downs, Hunter was leading the first moto with Chase Sexton right behind him, before having a big get-off on one of the downhills. Somehow, he was still able to get up and finish second.

“Yeah, it happened so fast, and it was kind of weird, like, a lot of things caught me off guard a little bit with hitting a bump or something. And then by the time my wheels were on the ground again, the bike was completely, uh, not directly underneath me! So, I was constantly having to react to stuff to fix it. And yeah, it just kicked and then I tried to gas out of it and dropped the front wheel into the face of one of the really steep gnarly ones and that just like snapped so fast. And unlike the 250 when the old 450 goes, she barks pretty hard. So, you know, strap yourself in for the ride and do your best to save it. But I'm okay, just kind of gave my head a bit of a knock which all things considering we’ll take. It's all good.”

One of the key issues in the 450 class was lappers. Sometimes the leaders would roll up on five or six lappers at a time. As soon as they passed one group of lappers, they were already catching the next group.

"But I knew coming in it'd be tough to beat Chase at his home race... And I was close in the first one until I was upside down." -Hunter LawrenceAlign Media

“Yeah, the lappers were something else, you know, I think I'd get held up a bit and then Chase would get held up a bit and I even seen some flaggers like, looking and holding the flag and it's almost like they just gave up on waving it at one point and I was like, 'Just wave the freaking thing. Like, what are you doing?' [Laughs] So, that was a little bit lame. I thought the blue flag could have been used a little more aggressively. But I knew coming in it'd be tough to beat Chase at his home race. Obviously, you know, extra little fuel for the fire and I knew he'd be on it. And I was close in the first one until I was upside down. So, thankful to not be hurt and stuff and yeah, it just happened so fast. But that's the nature of the beast.”

In the second moto Hunter and Team Honda HRC took a gamble by going away from the Dunlop MX14 "scoop" tire and going to the more traditional MX34 knobby tire. While the MX14 is better for the start, Hunter (and Jett's) starts have been incredible this year, and the team thought it was possible to still get a good start on the MX34, and then take advantage of that tire's better hard pack performance during the moto. The harder, base soil was starting to come up at the bottom of the ruts for moto two. But, that gamble didn't pay off. Hunter got one of his worst starts of the year, and the tire didn't really help him make up ground after that.

"Obviously hindsight's a beautiful thing, you know?" said Hunter. "And you never line up on the gate and when it's time to go and the helmet goes on, you never go. 'Oh, crap. I wish I did this.' You get up there and you sack up and you, you believe in yourself and you go to execute. So, yeah, next year we'll have more info, you know?"

Hunter also said that he knocked his head in that first-moto crash, nothing serious, but enough of a difference to where he couldn't run his usual pace. He finished off the podium for only the second time in a moto this summer in fourth. Still his 2-4 moto scores were enough to land him on the overall podium for the day with third overall. He is the only 450 rider to be on the podium at every race so far this year.

Not every race is going to be perfect, but Hunter Lawrence is really mastering staying away from the highs and lows, and just focusing on process and results. It's that approach that has made Hunter a 450 championship contender already.

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Mike Pelletier...AMA Director of Racing

MX Large interview

Mike Pelletier is very much a major part in the fantastic relationship between AMA and FIM. Pelletier, who is a regular visitor to the MXGP scene as the American representative for the FIM and joined the MXGP paddock for the two Grand Prix’s in Indonesia this past week.

The American Motorcyclist Association promoted Pelletier to director of racing from his role as AMA Supercross manager, back in 2020 and its a move that has proved to be a master stroke for the sport Worldwide.

Pelletier who manages the AMA’s domestic amateur and professional competition operations and continued to oversee the AMA’s responsibilities for the AMA Supercross Championship. Pelletier grew up racing motocross and held professional licenses from 2011 to 2015 in the United States and Canada. He graduated from New Hampshire’s Plymouth State University with a bachelor’s in business administration.

MXLarge: First of all, welcome the Indonesia and the GP. We haven’t met before, but I know your face from being a big part of getting Team USA as strong a line-up as possible in recent years and I can imagine, it isn’t always easy. Firstly, how are you enjoying being in Lombok?

Pelletier: I have been to a few of these and actually 2022 I visited Sumbawa in Indonesia as the FIM delegate. This is my first double GP here and I am really enjoying myself.

MXLarge: Sumbawa must have been something of a culture shock? (Sumbawa is very much a third World Island and while I love it, it isn’t something many westerners get to visit).

Pelletier: It was for sure, but I really enjoy being here. We are learning as we go, and we have a great team here at the FIM and they have helped me with the changes and how they do things here. It is a good experience and a learning curve.

MXLarge: As far as the GPs you have enjoyed and this whole Lombok experience with two GP and the culture here. Can you explain how you have found it?

Pelletier: I mean I did Latvia in 2019 I believe, and of course I do the Nations. I did Sumbawa and this one, with back to back Grand Prix’s has been exciting and the FIM team have experienced the culture and we went to the Gilli Islands in between and really tried to take it in, hired some scooters, went and saw the monkeys and the people around here are so supportive and friendly and its been enjoyable with the riders and hanging out during the week for sure.

MXLarge: Is that the reason for you to come here, to look how they do it, because I think in general American’s do as great a job as anybody in running sporting events, but there are a lot of things the MXGP does really, really well. What can you learn from Infont?

Pelletier: I think we can learn from each other, and I have taken a lot back to the United States and hopefully I brought some things here as well. As my CMS roll, I try and do a few GPs a year and I am thankful I can do that, as the FIM delegate position.

MXLarge: The pyramid structure here at the GPs, with the EMX running side by side with the Grand Prix riders, which is something you don’t really do in America, with your amateur. Obviously, you have a good system in America, but is there anything you would want to implement from the system they have here in GP?

Pelletier: Sure, I think we have a pretty strong amateur scene (in America), and we are starting to do our combines and our futures, and I think we have found what we can learn from here. They have a very strong amateur scene here and I think their amateur scene goes all the way up to the Nations now with that talent level. Hopefully we can keep on improving and I think we are making those strides in America to get to that level.

MXlarge: Obviously the push for Team USA racing the MXdN has often been on and off as far as who wants to or can race for their country. It is a pretty complicated job, because you have so much racing and little time to prepare for the following year. You guys had the streak, and everyone wants to race and then you started losing and getting riders and teams involved was more difficult, but you have been pushing hard and from what I understand, the support for this year is pretty good. Of course, the financially situation doesn’t help with sending a team, but how is that his year with Star Racing, are they willing to allow Deegan to come to Matterley in October?

Pelletier: Yes, we have a lot of support in the paddock, believe it or not. They have always been really good, and the teams have been really nice. Last years was complicated, because we had a lot of riders switching brands and not having a lot of time on the motorcycle and asking them to do an even of that magnitude, we want the riders to be successful and comfortable. This year, we have a lot of interest and absolutely, with Star and the way Chase is riding right now and unfortunately Jett just got injured (he will be back for Nations), and Australia will be tough, but I think we will have a very strong line-up this year.

MXLarge: Obviously Eli (Tomac) is coming back, will he be in the mix? You would assume it will be Eli, Chase and Haiden or not?

Pelletier: Eli should make the last couple of outdoors and Cooper Webb is also returning, and we will see how that goes, but just the way Chase is riding, and Justin Cooper is riding well, Deegan is riding well. A lot of the PC guys are riding well. We will have a good, good turnout and a strong team for Matterley.

MXLarge: Normally you would announce the team at Unadilla, will that be the case, or later because of the situation with Eli and Cooper Webb?

Pelletier: Yes, normally, but it will be later and hopefully around the last couple of Nationals. We want these guys to come back and see how that goes and make a decision as it gets closer with those three SMX rounds at the end of the season. We have a little more time now than we did before. We want to make it as quickly as possible and get these guys ready and do the fund raise and things like that.

MXlarge: Obviously, because America have won the Nations more than any other nation and people generally like to cheer against Team USA, or at least, there is always the rest of the World wanting to beat the American team. When riders don’t want to go, or can’t go, you guys get a lot of stick. Do you think people don’t really understand how difficult it can be to fit the Nations in for your riders with the schedule you race?

Pelletier: It is a lot to ask and all the riders who do go, want to ride for their country. We do have a lot of races, but we are starting to see that they want to go, and it is a misconception that it is too long. It is difficult for the riders, but there is interest there and people don’t see behind the scenes, but this year, for sure, we will have a very strong team.

Deegan ready to ‘come back swinging’ after big RedBud crash

An incident with a lapper at RedBud fortunately did not result in injury.

Image: Octopi Media.

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan escaped injury after landing on a downed rider’s bike in the second moto at RedBud. Deegan crashed heavily but was quick to remount and earned a P6 result in the moto. The 250MX points leader is already eager to get back to work this week to turn things around at Spring Creek.

The incident happened on the 13^th lap when Deegan was catching Tom Vialle and Ty Masterpool ahead of him. A lapped rider crashed on the big RedBud tabletop and Vialle and Masterpool both narrowly missed hitting him. A few moments later, Deegan came over the blind jump unaware of the crash and landed right on the machine laying in the middle of the track.

Deegan somersaulted onto his back and landed heavily but bounced right back up. He lost over 10 seconds in the fall and with it, any shot to get into a fight for an overall podium. But Deegan appears to be okay from the crash as he already has his eyes set on the seventh round coming up this weekend.

“In the second moto, I got pinched off really hard on the start, so it made it a little hard on me, but I got going,” said Deegan. “I started setting some of the fastest laps, and then a rider crashed on a landing and there were no flags, and I crashed. So, 2-6 for fifth overall on the day, and no points lost, that’s good. We’ve got a 42-point gap still, so we’re in a comfortable position. We’ll go back to work this week, though, so we can come back swinging next weekend.”

Deegan escaped with the exact championship lead he had entering the day despite the rider P2 in the championship, Chance Hymas, winning the overall. Hymas was docked five points after the first moto for jumping on a red cross flag and ultimately only outscored Deegan by five points on the day with 4-1 scores to Deegan’s 2-6.

Overall, both Deegan and the team are relieved that things didn’t end up worse in that situation.

“A lapper ended up going down on the landing of a tabletop, and Haiden crashed,” said team manager Jensen Hendler. “It wasn’t great, but he got back up and finished sixth for fifth overall. We still have the points lead and didn’t lose any points in the championship, which is good considering how it could’ve gone.”