Haiden Deegan delivered a dominant performance to claim his first premier class victory at Playoff 1 of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider swept both motos in challenging muddy conditions at Historic Crew Stadium, whilst Levi Kitchen of Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki prevailed in a tiebreaker to win the 250SMX Class.
A sellout crowd braved rainy weather on 12th September as the SMX postseason kicked off with treacherous conditions. Due to the wet track, organisers shortened the first motos to 15 Minutes + 1 Lap and second motos to 12 Minutes + 1 Lap to preserve the racing surface.
In the opening 450SMX moto, Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) grabbed the holeshot, but Deegan quickly moved past before completing the first lap. Top seed and Pro Motocross champion Hunter Lawrence (Honda HRC Progressive) crashed twice and started last, eliminating him from contention. Ken Roczen (Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear Suzuki) moved into second behind Deegan, who controlled the race to take the chequered flag by 17.2 seconds over the reigning Supercross champion.
Deegan continued his mastery in Moto 2, leading from the holeshot ahead of Prado and Roczen. The Suzuki rider briefly challenged for the lead after passing Prado, but Deegan fended off the pressure. Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) battled with Prado for third, ultimately prevailing as Deegan completed a wire-to-wire victory by 17.1 seconds over Roczen, who overcame a late crash.
The 1-1 sweep gave Deegan his first premier class win in just his 12th career start. Roczen finished runner-up (2-2) in his first race since May’s Supercross title, whilst Prado rounded out the podium (3-4). Despite finishing third overall, Prado seized the red plate and points lead, two points ahead of Deegan, who jumped from seventh to second. Lawrence dropped from first to sixth after finishing 15th.
In the 250SMX Class, top seed Cole Davies (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) dominated the opening moto until mechanical issues forced him to stop with three minutes remaining. Daxton Bennick (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) inherited the lead and took the moto win by 18.1 seconds over Kitchen, with Ryder DiFrancesco third.
Davies bounced back brilliantly in Moto 2, storming to a commanding 16.5-second victory. However, Kitchen’s late pass on Bennick for second proved crucial. Both riders finished tied on four points, but the second moto tiebreaker awarded Kitchen (2-2) the overall victory over Bennick (1-3). DiFrancesco claimed third (3-4), whilst Davies salvaged 11th overall.
Kitchen now leads the 250SMX Playoff standings by seven points over DiFrancesco, with Davies third, 10 points back.
Playoff 2 continues next Saturday, 19th September, at Los Angeles’ Dignity Health Sports Park, with live coverage on Peacock beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
Photo: Yamaha Media
