American motocross’ newest champion was crowned at the penultimate round of the 2024 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, as Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Haiden Deegan captured the 250 Class title and the coveted Gary Jones Cup at the Yamaha Budds Creek National Presented by Call 855 Treeman. A morning of rain gave way to partly sunny skies with high temperatures and high humidity for a challenging afternoon at Southern Maryland’s Budds Creek Motocross Park, where the 10th round of the summer saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider and points leader Chase Sexton secure his fifth straight 450 Class victory to move one step closer to the Edison Dye Cup, while Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen grabbed his third 250 Class win of the season amidst Deegan’s title clinch.
Words | Press release
250 CLASS: DEEGAN CHAMP
Kitchen’s 3-1 finishes secured his third career victory and now gives him three wins in the last four races, including back-to-back wins the past two rounds. Vialle earned his third runner-up finish of the season (2-3), while Deegan still managed to grab the final spot on the overall podium in third (1-10).
Deegan became the 35th different rider in 53 seasons of Pro Motocross to capture the Gary Jones Cup for the 250 Class title and did so in his second season of full-time competition. He’s amassed five victories through 10 rounds, with podium finishes at all but one race. He’s also earned nine moto wins through the first 20 motos of the season.
While Deegan has wrapped up the season crown, the battle for second in the championship continues between Kitchen and Vialle, who are separated by 14 points heading into the final round.
450 CLASS: FIVE IN A ROW FOR SEXTON
For the second week in a row a tiebreaker was needed to determine the overall winner, as Sexton’s 2-1 effort continued his dominant run with his fifth straight victory and his sixth win of the season. Lawrence was forced to settle for his sixth runner-up result of the summer (1-2), which has included back-to-back tiebreakers. Lawrence led 25 laps over the course of the afternoon, compared to Sexton’s five, all in the second moto. Plessinger rounded out the podium (3-3) to extend his streak to three.
Sexton’s lead over Lawrence in the championship standings sits at 28 points entering the final round, with Lawrence the only rider mathematically eligible for the title. Plessinger sits third, 95 points behind Sexton.
