CONCORD, North Carolina: Haiden Deegan chased Seth Hammaker until time ran off the clock, and with two laps remaining, he pounced to take the lead of Moto 1 of Round 1 in the SuperMotocross World Championship playoff Round 1.
Weather interrupted the rounds almost immediately after the conclusion of the 450’s Moto 1.
“If they want to send us in the mud, that’s cool,” Deegan said during the rain delay. “Either way, we’re chillin’. I’m a racer, we’ll figure it out. I mean, I’ve heard a lot of people complaining about the track today, which I think is BS because we’re professional athletes and I think you got to figure it out. So, no problem with the track and if we gotta race, we gotta race, and if we don’t then I’ll take the dub. I’m not gonna say it was an easy dub, because it was a hard race.”
With continuous lightning in the area and diminishing daylight, the second motos in both divisions were canceled, and the overall results were based on Moto 1. Deegan was credited with the overall win. The field will be awarded full points for this round.
“First win of the SMX season is pretty cool,” Deegan told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas from the podium. “Hope we can get more.”
Deegan got a modest start and was outside the top five in the opening laps. It took about half the moto for him to get Hammaker in sight, but once that was accomplished, the two-time defending champ steadily reeled the leader in and took the lead as time ran off the clock.
After giving up a 12-second advantage in the early laps, Hammaker faded to finish more than four seconds behind the leader. Hammaker was assessed a penalty of five championship points for jumping under a red cross flag condition; however, this will not affect his overall standing in this round. The SuperMotocross League employs Olympic-style scoring, with combined finishes contributing to the overall standings.
Levi Kitchen initially finished third, but was docked one position for passing a rider (Austin Forkner) under a red cross flag condition. Kitchen was scored fourth. He will also be penalized five championship points for jumping under the red flag.
Jo Shimoda battled for the lead during the opening lap, but ran out of patience and room as he clipped a Tuff Blox. Shimoda crashed and fell to 12th before mounting a charge to get back into third.
“I rode too aggressive in the first moto,” Shimoda said during the mid-round rain delay. “I should have backed off. I was expecting [Hammaker] to back off, but he didn’t.”
Forkner rounded out the top five.
- Masterpool was the fastest rider in the qualification.
- Hammaker earned the holeshot.
- Shimoda crashed on Lap 2.
- Deegan moved into fourth on Lap 3; Shimoda was 12th.
- Garrett Marchbanks crashed on Lap 3.
- Cole Davies crashed on Lap 4; Deegan moved up to second.
- Shimoda moved up to fourth on Lap 7.
- Deegan took the lead from Hammaker with time running off the clock.
- Deegan won by four seconds.
- Hammaker was assessed a five-second penalty for jumping on a red flag.
In Race Notes
Masterpool was fastest in the morning qualification sessions, but as an unseeded rider, he still needed to race his way into the features through the Wild Card (Last Chance Qualifier). Masterpool won that race.
Hammaker earned the holeshot with Shimoda in tow.
Shimoda challenged Hammaker for the lead until he clipped a Tuff Blox and crashed, dropping him outside the top 10.
Deegan started the race in seventh, but moved up to fourth by Lap 3.
With chaos reigning up front, Hammaker built an 11-second lead over Deegan.
On Lap 5, Kitchen (third), Forkner (fourth), and Tom Vialle (fifth) were up front.
Shimoda recovered to ride sixth on Lap 6.
Deegan closed the distance over a handful of laps. He cut the lead to 6.8 seconds with six minutes remaining on the clock.
Shimoda moved up to fourth on Lap 7. A podium is in sight.
Deegan caught Hammaker with less than two minutes remaining.
Deegan took the lead before the white flag and walked away from Hammaker.
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