Haiden Deegan finishes second overall at Las Vegas in the 250SMX class but collected enough points to win his second world championship title.
After Fort Worth, Deegan held a 19-point lead over Tom Vialle with Pierce Brown back another point. In normal situations, Deegan would just need to earn six points more than Vialle to clinch the title. But Las Vegas was a triple points race that kept the pressure on all the competitors and kept more riders eligible to win the title.
Deegan rose to the occasion to go 1-2 in both motos and win the 2024 250 SuperMotocross World Championship Fueled by Monster Energy.
“It feels good. Back-to-back is definitely a dream come true,” Deegan shared after winning his $500,000 bonus for the world championship title in the 250 class. “I worked my butt off ever since I was a kid to get here, so thank you to my family, my team Star Racing Yamaha, my trainer Swaney, just everyone in my circle. It takes a big team to do this, and a lot of hard work, so thank you, guys.”
Vialle finished second in the title standings in a monumental season for his young career. A podium last weekend in Fort Worth, two victories on the season and 12 top five finishes in the last 14 events gives him the confidence booster he hopes to carry into the 2025 season.
“The track is really tough to pass,” said Vialle. “Unfortunately, I had contact with Ty [Masterpool]; I didn’t mean to, and I think he crashed, so that was my bad and I’m really sorry for that. I had a little bit of arm pump at the end of the moto and I’m really excited. One more [moto] to go and I really want to fight with Haiden [Deegan] up front.”
Brown earned the overall win in Las Vegas for his first career victory at the 250 AMA level, his first podium since 2022 in Salt Lake City during the 250 Supercross Showdown.
“I’m speechless right now,” Brown stated on the podium. “I mean, I feel like this win has been long overdue. We’ve been working really hard the last couple of years, and I’m just so stoked we got it done. I can’t thank my team enough; everybody behind me, Will, the whole TLD GASGAS team, I mean everybody. It’s just been a fun run. As our gear says, this was the last dance so we ended on top, so I’m stoked.”
Deegan would finish 34 points ahead of Vialle with Brown just a point below. Jo Shimoda finished one point shy of the championship podium in fourth, with Jordon Smith completing the top five in the playoff standings 42 markers behind. Some riders are scheduled to move on to the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, while others will wait until the start of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.