Image: Octopi Media.

Colorado presented its challenges for 250MX rookie Haiden Deegan, but the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing talent maintained that ‘we’re just continuing to learn every weekend’ and holds third position in the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship.

Deegan opened the outdoors this year with second overall at Fox Raceway, before scoring his first 250MX race win a week later at Hangtown on his way to P3 overall and back-to-back podiums.

Competing at Thunder Valley for the first time, the 17-year-old posted the fifth fastest time in qualifying and launched to another holeshot in moto one. A minor tip-over soon after saw him relegated from the lead and he eventually finished fourth.

The number 238 didn’t have a great start in race two and coupled with another crash that set him back, he was able to recover to complete the moto in ninth, landing him eighth overall on the day.

“Qualifying went well and I was happy with that,” Deegan recalled. “Then the first moto, I pulled the holeshot, and l was like, ‘shoot, we can maybe get another moto win’, and then ended up falling in the third turn. It is what it is.

“I’m still learning – it was my fifth outdoor national – we’re just continuing to learn every weekend. It’s definitely not the position where we want to be, I’m a kid that wants to do better every weekend to keep building and being on the podium, but we have to take the positives and look at what we can change. We’ll just keep working.”

Ahead of the fourth round of the 2023 Pro Motocross Championship this Saturday at High Point, Deegan currently sits third in the 250MX standings, 27 points back from red plate-holder Lawrence.