SAN DIEGO, California: Last week in Anaheim, Levi Kitchen edged Haiden Deegan in qualification and while that did not transition into a great Main Event start, pride is on the line to see who will be fastest at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.
Times picked up in the Qualification 2 in San Diego and Deegan had his revenge. He topped the session and overall with a speed of 52.927, which was 0.052 seconds faster than Kitchen’s 52.979.
“I feel amazing,” Deegan told Peacock’s Haley Shanley on Race Day Live. “I felt amazing last week too, but I just messed up that Main Event.”
Earlier in the session, Kitchen posted the fastest lap to that time and immediately rolled a single jump and ended in the Tuff Blox. At the end of the second session, he posted a heater that came up short of Deegan’s top time and ended in the blocks again. He needs to clean that up before the evening program begins.
Ryder DiFrancesco landed third on the chart, proving the importance of momentum.
The two other podium finishers in Anaheim, Chance Hymas and winner Max Anstie, landed fourth and fifth on the chart respectively.
Cameron McAdoo requested to be moved into Group A. He was 11th fastest overall in Qualification 1 and was ninth fastest in Qualification 2.
Qualification 1
Kitchen had a fast, smooth lap at the end of the first qualification session for Group A riders as he jumped to the top of the board. After dominating qualification last week in Anaheim, Kitchen started out in the morning just as fast with a lap of 53.648. That was 0.364 seconds faster than Deegan and the field.
“I got a good night’s sleep and it’s a beautiful day in California, so I’m stoked to be here,” Kitchen told Peacock’s Haley Shanley. “The track’s really fun. Pretty technical, which I like. It took a little while to get going and I was getting a little worried, but I found a decent lap there at the end.”
Deegan’s lap of 54.012 puts him in contention to win qualification if he can improve slightly in the second session.
One of last week’s most dramatic stories belonged to Ryder DiFrancesco (54.418), who earned his first podium in A1. He started the San Diego round with momentum and was third.
Fourth-place Maximus Vohland (55.022) and Chance Hymas (55.043) rounded out the top five.
Last week’s winner Max Anstie (55.677) will need to find some speed to be competitive at Snapdragon. He was was seventh on the chart.
Due to multiple injuries in the past couple of seasons, Cameron McAdoo (56.331) finds himself in Group B. He topped that session by a little more than one second over Dominique Thury.
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