Haiden Deegan will make his Pro Motocross debut Saturday, August 27, at the Ironman National in Crawfordsville, Indiana, with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. Haiden is the son of 10-time, X Games Freestyle medalist Brian Deegan and brother of NASCAR Truck Series racer, Hailie Deegan.
To earn enough Class A points to be awarded his pro license, Deegan recently competed in pro-am races at the Unadilla and Budds Creek Nationals and is coming off a Schoolboy 2 class title at the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Motocross Championship.
In addition to his recent success in the 2022 Loretta’ Lynn’s, Deegan holds more than 30 amateur championships.
“I’m really looking forward to racing the Pro Motocross National at Ironman this weekend,” Deegan said in a release. “It’s going to be a big learning experience for me, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Deegan’s addition to the roster brings Yamaha Star Racing back to full strength, after their 250 riders missed multiple 2022 rounds due to injury.
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Levi Kitchens currently sits 10th in the points standings after competing in six of 10 rounds. He has been out of action since the July 9, Southwick Nationals. Kitchens has one overall podium finish this season, which came at Thunder Valley in June. In that round, Kitchens scored his first moto victory in the first race and was fifth in Moto 2.
Kitchens was forced to miss four rounds with a broken wrist.
Matthew LeBlanc also competed in the first six rounds with a best overall finish of eighth at Thunder Valley. LeBlanc has been recovering from a broken collarbone suffered at Southwick.
“We’re back to a full roster for Ironman,” said Jensen Hendler, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 250 Team Manager. “Haiden will join us this weekend, and we’re looking forward to seeing him get some seat time in the pro class.
“We’re also happy to have Levi and Matt back. They have been working hard to get back to racing before the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Spanish rider Guillem Farres had an impressive debut with the team last week at Budds Creek. Riding with the leaders at the start of Moto 1, he finished that race sixth and scored the ninth position overall after finishing 13th in Moto 2
“Guillem will also be with us again this weekend,” Hendler said. “He had a great debut at Budds Creek, and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do with a race under his belt.”