Haiden Deegan finally got the holeshot he wanted at Washougal but then, in a blink of an eye, he was on the deck and having to come from last when he went down in turn two!
Deegan gave thoughts on the moto that went wrong the moment it went right: “Yeah, I was like, finally, whole shot. Let’s see what I can do. This is it. I need to get my moto away and I’m going to send it. Sent it into the first turn, second turn, crashed. I’m like, all right, that did not go well!
“I’m like, I look down at my bike and I was like, damn, no way. I just did that. So it’s all good, though. It’s got a dog. It was crazy. Like 15 minutes in, I was like, damn, I’m in 4th already? That’s wild.
“But the boys out front are so far ahead. You’ve got like probably 20 seconds and they’re obviously ripping. So it’s hard to close that gap and kind of just say where I was at. And yeah, I was proud of my effort, though, to get through the pack that quick. And the hard part is you fall in the first turn, you’re like, well, I still want to go for this podium. So I’m still happy I was able to salvage a 4th.
“I was going for it. I was pretty mad. I was pissed. I can’t believe I just fell. So I was sending it pretty gnarly!
Deegan started third in moto and got to follow the Lawrences for a while before they pulled away, then he got a second chance at Jett when he crashed and got up just in front of Deegan but, again, Jett was able to pull away:
Deegan said: ” I got, obviously, behind Jett for a little bit there. And it’s like, I see it. It’s not like, ‘damn, these dudes are shocking fast.’ That’s not what goes through my head. It’s me. I made these little mistakes.
“But I’d say I need to get my bike more dialed in, too. I feel like those guys, obviously, this is their third or fourth year. They have a good setup. And that’s not my excuse, right? I don’t want to make that an excuse, but like, truly, I’m still building myself up to this bike. And it’s just a longer learning curve than a 250.
“So it’s like, when I’m behind them and I hang on to them for a few laps, it’s nothing crazy. I’m not like these dudes are out of the world. I just need to get a little better. And it’s not like a huge gap, right, that I got to, you know, fill out. But it starts with pulling the whole shot.
“That’s really what needs to happen, is I need to go run up front and feel that pace get pushed from the back. That’s what I feel like I need. And it’s, I almost had it first moto, but I tucked it, so it’s not great. But it’s nothing out of the ordinary. It’s just little stuff I got to work on, and I’ll be right there.”
