After rumours he would do it were shut down by Brian Deegan, Ricky Carmichael has said that he still thinks it would be a great idea for Deegan to ride a 450 at Budds Creek if he clinches the 250 Pro Motocross title at Unadilla this weekend.
Carmichael tweeted: “IF Haiden could win title early. I personally think he should race the 450 the final @ProMotocross round.I understand the risk, clearly. But, I believe he has enough self discipline to not put himself in a bad situation. I think he could learn a ton.”
Historically, it was not uncommon for 125 riders to ride a 250 in the opposite coast in the 90s, and Carmichael previously said he wished he had done it too. Bradshaw, McGrath, Huffman, Lusk all did it and Kevin Windham even won a 250 round when he was still a 125 rider back in 1997, he even rode a 250 in 1996 at 17, after only going pro with Yamaha in 1995!
More recently, Ryan Dungey made his 450 debut outdoors in 2009 at the MXoN and won it, with Webb also impressing on a 450 at the US GP and MXoN, so it has been done before and, for Deegan, he has nothing to lose, if he does well it’s a bonus and, as Ricky Carmichael says, he can learn a ton for 2026.
See what Deegan looks like on the factory 450 he was testing during the break… is there still a chance? You never know with the Deegan family with Haiden saying he was three seconds faster on the 450… does that take him to Jett Lawrence pace?
Antonio Cairoli also gave his view on Jett v Deegan…
