Haiden Deegan dominates at Southwick
By Team TMX on 28th Jun 25
The AMA Pro Motocross Championship roared back into life for Round Five of the summer campaign at the iconic sand-slinger, Southwick. Known as The Wick 338, this gnarly New England circuit is a proper old-school beast, brutal on body and bike, and a true mental test. But none of that fazed Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing's Haiden Deegan, who stormed to a commanding 1-1 performance to bag his fourth 250 class overall in five starts.
The skies were grey and misty early doors, but the sun broke through just in time for the motos, setting the stage for a full-on sand war. Moto one saw Deegan absolutely nail the start and claim the Pro Motocross Holeshot, immediately stretching out a handy lead over teammate Michael Mosiman and Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle. The Frenchman looked racey and started putting pressure on Mosiman – only to tip it over and drop out of the top 10.
That off handed third place briefly to Triumph Factory Racing’s Mikkel Haarup, but he couldn’t hold off Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Levi Kitchen for long. Meanwhile, Deegan was in a class of his own, gapping the field by over 15 seconds before the moto hit halfway.
While Deegan checked out, Kitchen and Mosiman locked horns in a scrap for second. The Yamaha man fended off multiple charges, but with just a couple of laps left, Kitchen capitalised on a drop in Mosiman’s pace to make a clean pass stick. Deegan crossed the line a whopping 25.1 seconds clear for his most dominant ride of the year, with Kitchen second and Vialle putting in a gritty last-lap charge to snatch third from Mosiman. Haarup rounded out the top five for his best result to date.
Moto two kicked off in near-identical fashion, with Deegan once again grabbing the holeshot and immediately asserting control. This time it was Triumph’s Jalek Swoll behind, with Kitchen, Jo Shimoda (Honda HRC Progressive), and Vialle all in the mix early on. The clean air allowed Deegan to open a two-second gap on lap one.
Within minutes, it was clear it’d be another Deegan vs Kitchen showdown, as the pair broke away from the chasing pack. Shimoda elbowed his way past Swoll into third, and before long Vialle followed suit to go fourth. Shimoda wasn’t done, though – the Japanese ace reeled in Kitchen and took over second just past the 10-minute mark. Kitchen slipped back into the clutches of Vialle, who moved into third, where he'd stay to the flag.
Out front, Deegan was in control but not cruising – Shimoda kept him honest, trimming the lead to under 10 seconds, but couldn’t quite mount a challenge. Deegan took the chequers 8.9 seconds clear for his eighth moto win of the year, sealing a perfect 1-1 day and becoming the first back-to-back winner at Southwick in the 250 class since Tyla Rattray did it in 2010–2011.
Vialle’s 3-3 gave him second overall for the second weekend running, while Kitchen’s 2-4 made it four straight podiums for the Kawasaki rider.
The result sees Deegan tighten his grip on the red plate, now sitting 58 points ahead of Shimoda (fifth overall with 10-2 scores), while Vialle jumps to third in the standings, 79 points off the lead.
