Star Racing Yamaha Jordon Smith, a veteran of the 250SX class, has described the contact between himself and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Haiden Deegan in Salt Lake City. This incident occurred before Smith remounted to secure third place in the western regional point standings.
Smith said – “And yeah, I made a run there through the whoops that lap, he kind of got a little sketchy, and I had a good run up the inside. I went for a pass and maybe didn’t go hard enough. I wasn’t trying to take him out or anything, like he was leading, and that’s what he needed to do to try and win the championship. You know, we’re on the same team, I’m not going to try and take him out – our bikes got stuck together.
“Looking back on it, maybe I should have just went in a little harder, maybe I should have backed off… I don’t know, I need to go back and watch it and see. We only had a few laps to go, so I was kind of running out of time a little bit. I was just really bummed how it turned out there, but also glad that I got up quick and was able to make a pass on Jo because that was for third in the championship. There’s no bonus or anything for that, but it’s still nice to get that third.”
Star Racing Yamaha Haiden Deegan, despite going on to win his third race of the year and picking up the first 250SX East/West Showdown victory of his career, he found Smith’s move questionable with the title on the line – firing a shot of his own at the experienced 29-year-old post-race.
Deegan said: “I obviously was going to block the line and he ran into my rear wheel and fell,” Deegan reflected. “He did the same thing he did last year at Detroit, ran into my rear wheel and fell. I’m like, ‘Dude, why did you do that again?”… Whatever. I mean, I guess that’s why he’s been in the class for 10 years, maybe.”
Source of the interview – Kellen Brauer Motoonline
Video of the incident
