SALT LAKE CITY, Utah: Haiden Deegan was the fastest rider in the first qualification session at Rice-Eccles Stadium, but Seth Hammaker bettered his time in Q2 to land on the top of the board.
Hammaker’s (48.871) speed was 2.4 seconds faster than Deegan’s (49.113) best time.
Levi Kitchen was third overall. It appears his back pain is not slowing him.
Fourth-place Nate Thrasher (49.968) showed the overall speed of the Eastern division.
Cole Davies (49.968) rounded out the top five.
Overall qualification results after Q2
Qualification 1
Western Division
Deegan (49.113) is anxious to get this round over so he can fully concentrate on the 450 class and Pro Motocross. He earned the holeshot in the first qualification session with Ryder DiFrancesco in tow.
Deegan started out quick and got progressively faster as the session continued.
Deegan had nearly a one-second lead for most of the session, but Levi Kitchen (49.668) twisted the throttle a little harder at the end and cut that to .55 seconds. He was second on the board and the only other rider to crack the 50 -second advantage.
Lux Turner (50.472) surged into third overall in the first session on the track.
Fourth-place DiFrancesco (50.555) and Max Anstie (50.637) rounded out the top five.
In his second professional race, Kayden Minear (51.003) was seventh.
Eastern Division
Seth Hammaker (49.830) led the field into the Eastern divisional qualification and he held the top spot throughout the session.
That time put him third overall, with Deegan and Kitchen faster in the West session.
Hammaker was more than one second faster than Nate Thrasher (50.926).
Eastern champion, Cole Davies (51.046) took a casual approach to qualification and landed
Fourth-place Devin Simonson (51.290) earned his first podium in the Nashville Supercross race this season. He wants another
Henry Miller (51.433) rounded out the top five.
Combined East/West results through Q1
Qualification 2
Eastern Division
The second time out, Davies wasted no time getting to the front of the field. He was on top of the board quickly before getting pushed to second by Derek Kelley and then Hammaker.
Hammaker (48.871) held his position until the checkers and was the first rider in the 48-second range.
Nate Thrasher (49.969) showed up in second and was the only other rider to crack the 50-second mark.
Davies (50.135) slowed somewhat in the middle stage and surged to third near the end of the session.
Daxton Bennick (50.469) was fourth as Kelley’s (50.493) pace landed him in the top five.
Coty Schock (50.573) was just outside that mark in sixth.
Western Division
Just as he did in Q1, Deegan shot out to the lead in the second qualification session in a quest to deny his competitors even the least bit of hope.
That early time was not enough to eclipse Hammaker’s speed in the Eastern division.
Deegan (49.113) tends to put his best effort into race trim, however, and he will challenge for the victory.
Kitchen (49.668) was second in this session, just as he was in Q1.
Turner (50.472) continued to show speed and slotted into third.
Fourth-place DiFrancesco (50.555) and Anstie (50.637) rounded out the top five.
