Haiden Deegan overcame a terrible start in the East / West Showdown at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, and after starting in the 10th position, he charged forward to cross the finish line by more than four seconds ahead of Cole Davies.
But it was Davies with the victory after the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) penalized Deegan one position for switching lanes in a split lane configuration.
This was the second time Davies won a race after Deegan was stripped of the win by a penalty. Last August, Davies was declared the winner of Moto 1 at Budds Creek after both Deegan and Jo Shimoda were penalized in the Pro Motocross series for jumping and passing a rider in a section of the track that displayed a red cross flag. Deegan won the second moto that afternoon and was scored as the overall winner.
AMA rules require a rider to commit to a lane when split lanes are employed. Midway through the feature, Deegan entered on the outside of the split lane and immediately moved to the other lane.
Davies had a more than five-second lead in the middle stage of the race, but as he and Levi Kitchen battled, Deegan closed the distance.
Shimoda challenged Davies for second on the final lap, but he spun his tires, and Seth Hammaker assumed the bottom rung of the podium.
Shimoda finished fourth.
After losing contact with the lead battle, Kitchen fell to fifth.
In-Race Notes
Kitchen earned the holeshot, but Davies was on his back tire, and he took the lead away in the second turn.
Kitchen responded with a pass on Lap 2, while Deegan languished in 10th after a poor start.
Hammaker settled into third during those opening laps.
Fourth-place Shimoda and Max Anstie rounded out the top five on Lap 4.
Ryder DiFrancesco pulled into the mechanic’s area after posting a strong preliminary speed.
Deegan moved into sixth on Lap 5. He was five seconds behind the lead battle
Pierce Brown crashed on Lap 5 and could not continue. He walked off course under his own power.
Deegan moved into fifth around Anstie on Lap 7.
Davies took the lead from Kitchen one lap later. Deegan closed the distance slightly as they battled at the front.
Hammaker and Shimoda had a heated battle for the lead at the halfway mark. Deegan closed to within a second of this contest.
Shimoda made the pass on Lap 10.
Deegan moved into fourth on Lap 11. He closed to two seconds of the lead.
With three minutes remaining on the clock, Davies, Shimoda, and Deegan developed a three-rider battle. Two seconds separate the trio.
Deegan took the lead on Lap 15.
The running order was Deegan, Davies, and Shimoda as time ran off the clock. Deegan immediately scooted out to a 2.4-second lead.
Deegan crossed under the checkered flag first, followed by Davies and Hammaker.
