HAIDEN DEEGAN | GRIT-220 | 250SX

HAIDEN DEEGAN | GRIT-220 | SX 250

Though doused with a bit of moisture early in the day as qualification began, the track in Salt Lake City (for Saturday) would allow for significantly more traction that what was showcased for press day. The rookie sensation, Haiden Deegan, was prepared; regardless of the circumstances though, and proceeded to bombard the competition with a myriad of strong lap-times throughout his respective East Coast qualification tenure. Throttling through the whoops while skipping the tops of the moguls, there was little to critique in regard to his riding aptitude...which would carry forward into his heat race where Deegan immediately took the lead! Storming underneath the tunnel jump on the opening two circuits, his ability to leap onto the plateau and then triple afterward would be paramount before diving into the forthcoming left; gripping the chassis with his lower body while speeding past the mechanic's area and looking for his mechanic for cues. All the while, he could hear the distant engine of Honda's Hunter Lawrence become more clear and proceeded to rise to another level in the latter half of the moto. His front wheel would nearly clip the top of the tunnel jump as he shaved as much airtime as possible, however upon landing he would manage to keep the Yamaha frame moving forward with an unparalleled trajectory. All in all, his efforts would lead to an incredible, first place position being garnered in the record book(s) before moving forward to the latter stages of the night show; which had those in the cheering section of Deegan, absolutely ecstatic! The lights couldn't have been brighter in Salt Lake City, and as he maintained his composure throughout the first few circuits of the finalé, it was hard for him to ignore the roaring crowd that monitored his every move! Yet even with a less than desired start, Deegan could be found on the move and passing riders quickly! He took advantage of numerous mistakes on behalf of other riders, including Hunter Lawrence who would be tangled-up with that of Enzo Lopes...as both riders then strove to leap into the top-ten. The battle between he and Hunter Lawrence, was intense; which led to the two riders nearly coming together on more than one occasion but with unwavering focus he would manage to combat the endless attempts of moving forward on behalf of the Honda rider, until lap twelve concluded. It was then, when the veteran's skillset would make a daring pass on the rookie (Deegan), but credit would have to be given to the Yamaha rider for holding strong for so long. Traction was becoming less and less as they neared the three-quarter mark of the moto, with various riders beginning to knife the front-end in the flat bend before the finish-line...but his ability to distribute weight would be extremely proficient when subtle notches were present and top soil had seemingly been washed away. This would lead to an ultimatum over the final three laps when he would have to decide between riding conservative (and risk losing the eighth place position to Mitchell Oldenburg), or storm forward with fearlessness and continue attacking the racetrack until the checkered flag was thrown. He chose the latter, and almost would pass Max Anstie for seventh (which seemed to be critical)...but with Anstie being overtaken by Hunter Lawrence, the battle for second (in the East Coast Championship) would ultimately be clenched by Deegan. Who claimed the runner-up finish (for the season) by one point, in the overall standings, with an eighth-place ride in Salt Lake City!

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