As a racer, winning is always the objective. In this scenario, with one million dollars on the line, triple points up for grabs, and a 16-point deficit, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan needed to win at the SMX World Championship Final to have a shot at the crown. In the end, Deegan did his part, winning the first moto and securing the overall victory with his 1-2 moto score.

He came up just shy of the top spot, completing his debut season aboard the
YZ450F with a runner-up finish in the 450SMX Championship. His teammate Cooper Webb also had a strong finish to the year, going 4-4 for fifth overall and securing a top-five finish in the championship standings.

After a wild couple of playoff rounds, the stage was set for a thrilling finish to the season at the all-new venue for the SMX World Championship Final – Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri. It was a proper hybrid supercross-motocross track, and from the start, Deegan set the tone, topping qualifying and grabbing the holeshot in Moto 1.

Under pressure early, he ran his own race and set a strong pace up front, eventually building a gap on the competition and leading every lap en route to his third moto victory of the SMX postseason.

In Moto 2, Deegan got another good start in third and quickly made his way into the runner-up spot. With the championship on the line, he kept points leader Jorge Prado in sight and closed the gap as the clock wound down.

With around a minute remaining, Deegan made his move, but Prado countered, with the rookie ultimately crossing the line second. His 1-2 score secured the overall victory, his second win of the three-round playoff series.

“I qualified first and got the dub in the first moto, and put myself in a really good position to contend for this championship,” said Deegan. “I had a pretty good second race as well and ended up getting the overall, but lost the championship. I still made some good money in this SMX series, so I'm still stoked on that. Now it's offseason time. So we're going to go recover, and then get back to work and come out swinging at Supercross.”

In the end, Deegan was seven points shy of the title, but it still was a strong debut season in the premier class. After securing his second-consecutive 250SX West Championship earlier in the year, he made the move to the YZ450F for the outdoor season, finishing third in the 450 Pro Motocross Championship before taking the title fight down to the final moto of the SMX World Championship Finals.

His teammate Webb also showed strength at the season finale, qualifying sixth and getting two good starts to the motos. In Moto 1, he challenged for the holeshot before coming out fourth. In the second half of the moto, Prado closed in, but the three-time 450SX Champion held him off and rode on to finish fourth. In Moto 2, Webb got another solid start in sixth and quickly made his way to fourth. From there, he put in a strong ride to hold the position to the checkered flag, earning fifth overall.

“31 races complete!” said Webb. “It was a wild SMX series and a fast night of racing tonight. I ended up going 4-4 for fifth overall, and fifth in the series. I rode really well tonight, even though the results were about the same. I was happy with how it went, with how fast and how motocross the track was! It was nice being a contender again for SMX, as well. This was my last race with Yamaha, which was bittersweet. This team gave me a shot as a 15-year-old kid and then again as a 450 champion, and I was able to deliver them championships on both occasions. I’m proud of what we accomplished. That’s a wrap for us; now it’s time for MXON.”