Image: Octopi Media.

After getting a taste for a ‘hybrid’ SuperMotocross World Championship track layout at ZMax Dragway, 250SMX contender Haiden Deegan says nothing ‘super out of the ordinary’ will be done to try and best prepare for the remaining playoffs.

Charlotte last Friday and Saturday marked the first playoff of the post-season, and the first time a hybrid track layout has been used that specifically targets a combination of Monster Energy Supercross and Pro Motocross features.

“We’re racers, we know how to ride a dirt bike track, so it’s not like we have got to do anything super out of the ordinary,” explained Deegan. “Supercross track, maybe add a few straightaways and bring an outdoor track into it, but yeah we are good at adapting.

“It’s going to be exciting though, me and Jo [Shimoda] have both proved that we can win, so it is going to be a good race and I’m excited to take it down to the wire.”

Despite a sizeable crash in qualifying, Deegan rebounded in moto one to charge from fourth to ultimately take a commanding race win, before finishing fifth in moto two after a poor start at the back of the field to land third overall.

“We had a pretty big crash in qualifying, but recovered from that one,” Deegan added. “The body’s sore, but we had to dig deep. That first moto went really well. I got a fourth-place start and moved into the lead.

“In the second moto, I was dead-last after the start and made my way back up to fifth. I struggled with soreness today. My body was beat up from that crash, but coming out of the first round tied and with the red plate is a really good way to look at it. We’ll come back swinging next week at the second round.”

Deegan is now second in the SMX standings, equal on points with playoff one winner Jo Shimoda (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) as the post-season moves to Chicagoland this Friday and Saturday.