The biggest story heading into the opening round of World Supercross kicking off this weekend in Argentina is undoubtedly Haiden Deegan.
The US teenager has a lot of firsts this weekend – his first time racing outside the USA, his first time racing a 450 and his first time racing in Fox kit – but will he be first on Saturday night and win on his 450 debut ride?
The answer is, yes, he can absolutely win, but he probably isn’t the favourite! Ken Roczen is usually impressive at these races and will surely start as the favourite, there is no way Ken will want to see his new Fox teammate take the victory without a fight, the same goes for Jason Anderson who is making his debut on HEP Suzuki and isn’t a afraid to rub elbows with anyone, neither will he be one bit intimidated by Haiden Deegan’s attitude, they have been there and done that.
Teammate Justin Cooper doesn’t get the hype he probably should for his speed but the guy is fast and with Joey Savatgy also in the mix alongside Deegan’s former riding coach the very talented Christian Craig, Deegan will have to beat some very talented riders who have experienced it all before.
Can Deegan beat them all? Yes he can, but to beat all those guys at once first time out would be impressive, especially an explosively fast super-talent like Ken Roczen.
Roczen has already warned Deegan that his 250 antics and talk won’t work on him or any of the top 450 riders, and Roczen is far too talented to be even remotely worried about Deegan right now, he respects his speed, yes, but the most talented rider on the gate in Argentina is still Ken Roczen.
Roczen told the AC JB show a few months ago in regards to Deegan’s antics affecting his 450 competition: “I don’t think anyone in the 450 class cares about that type of stuff, we have all been through it for multiple years. I just don’t think it phases anybody in the 450 class. The competition in the 450 class is stiffer and I don’t think anybody takes any sh*t if I am being honest. Is he going to be successful? Absolutely, but he does have a handful of riders on his level and harder to deal with.”
Deegan is smart in that he is getting his 450 feet wet in WSX, the depth of A1 is not there, but the top riders this weekend are still elite and they will not want Deegan clicking off a win on his debut, no-one will be backing down to Haiden Deegan in the 450 class this weekend but Deegan loves a fight and won’t be backing down either. He has a point to prove.
You can watch it all unfold live here: https://gatedrop.com/wsx-watch-every-race-live-and-on-demand/
