PALA, California: Haiden Deegan picked up where he left off at the end of the 2024 Fox Raceway Nationals. He started outside the top five in the first race and methodically passed the competition for the Moto 1 win.
After working his way forward from sixth, Deegan inherited second when the leader Chance Hymas went down. He then made short work of Julien Beaumer. Once in the lead, he marched off to a 10-second lead before going into protect mode. Deegan gave up three seconds of his advantage but was unchallenged in the second half of the race.
“I feel like in the position I am, I don’t want to rush it in the beginning,” Deegan told Peacock’s Jason Thomas. “Let the race come to me, have some fun. It was a little wet at the beginning, so I had to let it dry out a bit.”
The fiercest battle of the first moto belonged to second with Jo Shimoda passing Hymas and Beaumer in quick succession, but he was unable to close the gap on Deegan.
“I don’t have anything to lose, so I came in here to do my best,” Shimoda said. “Good starts are all I needed. It feels really good to start like this, but it’s only the first moto.”
In the see-saw affair, Hymas lost a position to Beaumer and regained it in the closing circuits. The top three were well-placed to challenge for the overall victory.
“I’m excited for the second moto,” Hymas said. “I got a really good start and good sprint laps. I need to tinker and dial in on the bike right now. The track’s a lot different than qualifying and I was fighting the bike a little bit and that forced my mistake when I crashed.”
It took half the race for Tom Vialle to get in contention but he finished fourth.
Fifth-place Beaumer rounded out the top five.
In-Race Notes
Ty Masterpool and Chance Hymas started the first moto side by side.
Haiden Deegan did not get a great start. He ran sixth in the first lap. Poor starts rarely mean anything for Deegan’s chances for victory, however; he likes to pass riders.
Five minutes into the race he moved up to fourth, six seconds behind the leader.
Deegan moved into the final podium position on Lap 3.
Austin Forkner crashed on Lap 1 and headed to the Alpinestars Medical hauler. He thinks he needs stitches after another rider collided with him.
Seth Hammaker tipped over on Lap 5 after jittering through the braking bumps.
Deegan closed the gap on Hymas near the halfway point.
Hymas tucked the front wheel and went down with a little more than 15 minutes on the clock. Beaumer and Deegan got around around him.
One minute later, Deegan took the lead. He won both Fox Raceway motos last year.
As Deegan pulled away, there was a fierce battle between Hymas who moved into second, Beaumer, and Jo Shimoda.
Early contender, Masterpool, was 12 seconds behind with 10 minutes on the clock.
Shimoda found a burst of speed and jumped to second one lap later.
Tom Vialle moved into the top five on Lap 10.
With time off the clock and two laps remaining, Deegan had a 7.9 second lead over Shimoda, third-place Hymas, fourth-place Vialle, and Beaumer.
A championship reset this weekend in Pala, California, as the Pro Motocross riders prepare for 11 outdoor rounds, but this race also counts toward the SuperMotocross League seeding. It’s important to finish in the top five. Each moto pays a maximum of 25 points like a Supercross feature.
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