Haiden Deegan had to overcome poor starts in both motos of Round 1 of the 2024 SuperMotocross World Championship but was upfront when it mattered most and scored the overall victory with a sweep of the motos.
With a perfect score of two points in the Olympic-style scoring, he easily outpaced Julien Beaumer’s six and stretched his advantage over the rest of the field. Doubling his total from pre-round seeding, Deegan now has an eight-point lead over Levi Kitchen as the series heads to Texas Motor Speedway, where points will be doubled.
Beaumer scored his first career professional dirt bike podium in style, landing second on the chart with results of second in Moto 1 and fourth in Moto 2. During the second race, he was challenged by Jo Shimoda in the closing laps and was aware the Honda rider finished third in Moto 1. That gave him the extra incentive to ride aggressively during the closing minutes. Had Beaumer given the position away, he would have been in a three-way tie with Shimoda and Levi Kitchen at seven points each and would have failed to podium based on the tiebreaker.
Kitchen struggled in Moto 1 and finished a distant fifth. He got a solid start in Moto 2 and rode second to Beaumer for a lap before he relinquished to lead to Deegan on Lap 11 of 13. A second-place finish in that race elevated him to second overall, and the 20 points earned during this round keep him in contention as values double and triple in the next two rounds.
Click here for in-race updates and a recap from zMax Dragway
Jo Shimoda did not formally announce he would return for the playoffs after breaking a collarbone in the Unadilla National with two rounds remaining of Pro Motocross, but he practiced well on Friday and landed fifth on that chart. His goal was to ride up front and keep from being roosted during the afternoon, and with results of third in Moto 1 and fifth in Moto 2, he was reasonably successful. Shimoda ended the day fourth overall.
Tom Vialle rounded out the top five with results of fourth and seventh in the two motos. He maintained his position third overall in the SMX Championship but lost eight points to the leader. He needs a strong showing in Texas to keep from being overshadowed once the finale gets underway in two weeks in Las Vegas.
Cameron McAdoo returned from injury but was outside the top 20 in combined SMX points. He must race his way into each Feature, which he accomplished at zMax Dragway. He finished 7-10 and was seventh overall. Earning 14 points at zMax, McAdoo climbed from the basement top 14th overall.
Casey Cochran crashed in qualification and opened the door for one additional rider to move into the Feature. Talon Hawkins took advantage to finish 19-19 and 20th overall.
Here are the 250 Motocross results and points standings after Round 1 in Concord, North Carolina:
Results
Click here for the official 250 results from zMax Dragway
Qualification Results
Moto 1
Moto 2
Combined
Last Chance Qualifier
Moto 1
Results
Moto 2
Results
Here is the finishing order of Round 1 at zMax Dragway:
1. Haiden Deegan, 1-1
2. Julien Beaumer, 2-4
3. Levi Kitchen, 5-2
4. Jo Shimoda, 3-5
5. Tom Vialle, 4-7
6. Jordon Smith, 6-6
7. Max Anstie, 11-3
8. Cameron McAdoo, 7-10 *
9. RJ Hampshire, 10-8
10. Garrett Marchbanks 9-9
11. Pierce Brown, 8-14
12. Ty Masterpool, 12-11
13. Ryder DiFrancesco, 14-12
14. Nicholas Romano, 16-13
15. Coty Schock, 15-15
16. Chance Hymas, 13-20
17. Carson Mumford, 18-16 *
18. Jett Reynolds, 17-17 *
19. Lux Turner, 20-18 *
20. Talon Hawkins, 19-19 *
21. Nate Thrasher, 21-22
22. Cole Thompson, 23-21
23. Jalek Swoll, 22-23
* Advanced from LCQ
More SuperMotocross News
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Nate Thrasher will race 250 SMX playoff races
Justin Barcia returns to SMX to ‘show what he has’
Jason Anderson, Jason Montoya and the bonds of trust
Cameron McAdoo returns for SMX
Chance Hymas named 250 MXoN rider
Chase Sexton, Aaron Plessinger named to MXoN Team USA
