PALA, California: Haiden Deegan had to wait four hours to be declared the winner of the 250 division in Round 1 of the Pro Motocross season after riding off course in the closing laps of Moto 2 at Fox Raceway. He was not racing anyone for position at the time.
“I went off the track,” Deegan said. “I did not accelerate; I did all I was supposed to do.”
Deegan also rode off course in Moto 1 but was not penalized.
The series delayed the 250 press conference in the hope of having a winner declared beforehand. In post-race comments, Deegan acknowledged he went off track but believed he did what was required before reentering the course.
Deegan then asked second-place finisher Levi Kitchen who he believed should be the winner.
“I don’t think I would have passed you; it depends on how much you slowed up,” Kitchen said. “It’s a sticky situation, though, because then my buddy Tom [Vialle] got docked for a similar situation. ... If Tom hadn’t got docked, then it would be a different situation.”
Vialle was penalized one position in Moto 1 for an infraction similar to Deegan’s, which dropped him from third to fourth in the rundown. Ultimately, Vialle’s penalty did not impact the overall standings and he finished third.
Click here for official 250 results from Fox Raceway
I had some issues; it’s the same [in MXGP],” Vialle said of the incidents. “I only missed like two rollers and then I went back on the track. Of course, I didn’t look back. I saw the video from Haiden. The rules are not so clear. You never know what to do, to be honest, and I feel like if you don’t win a position — if you don’t pass someone — I think that’s not too bad.”
Had Deegan been penalized, it would have dropped him from first to second based on a tiebreaker. In the event riders score the same number of points in the two combined motos, the better finish in Race 2 decides the overall position.
Deegan was penalized earlier this year in the Supercross series for riding off course in Birmingham, Alabama and failing to slow down.
This is Deegan’s third Pro Motocross victory after winning last year at RedBud in Buchanan, Michigan and at Washougal, Washington.
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