Adam Cianciarulo & Haiden Deegan Both Podium at High Point MX National

The 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship dipped into the rolling hills of southern Pennsylvania, touching down at the time-tested High Point Raceway on Saturday for a blazing Round 4 of the series. Bringing home the hardware for Monster Energy was veteran Adam Cianciarulo (Kawasaki), who scored a 3rd place podium finish (4-4) in the 450 class, while rookie sensation Haiden Deegan continued to impress, scoring a 3rd place podium finish (2-6) on the 250 – and moving into 2nd place overall in the class standings.

Cianciarulo’s High Point podium finish, his first of the outdoor season, came at the same track where he won his last pro motocross race (2021).

“You have to be 100 percent focused the whole time,” said Cianciarulo, interviewed on NBC Sports. “It’s as much about the mental battle as it is physical for me. It’s been a great year so far and to get good results like this on the podium, I had a lot of pace at the beginning, was running up there with those guys, and that means a lot more than the result.”

Rounding out the top five at High Point in the 450 class for Monster Energy was Dylan Ferrandis (Star Racing/Yamaha) with a podium finish (3rd) in the second moto to secure 4th overall (6-3).

On the 250s, Monster Energy’s Jo Shimoda (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) also just missed out on a podium finish, rallying back from a crash and 7th place result in the opening moto to a podium 3rd place finish in Moto 2 – giving him a 7-3 overall for 4th place. Also making the top ten for Monster Energy were Chance Hymas (Honda) in 6th (8-5), Ryder DiFrancesco (Pro Circuit/Kawasaki) in 7th (5-8) and Levi Kitchen (Star Racing/Yamaha) in 9th (12-4).

High Point Raceway

450 class results                                                  250

3rd - Cianciarulo (Monster/Kawasaki)                  3rd - Deegan (Monster/Star/Yamaha)

4th - Ferrandis (Monster/Star/Yamaha)                4th - Shimoda (Monster/PC/Kawasaki)

N/A                                                                        6th - Hymas (Honda)

Overall Standings (4 of 11 rounds)

450 class                                                              250

2nd - Ferrandis, 151 points                                   2nd - Deegan, 147 points

5th - Cianciarulo, 134 points                                4th - Shimoda, 129 points

N/A                                                                       5th - Cooper, 121 points

450

Moto 1

Ferrandis and Cianciarulo came out of the morning qualifying session in 4th and 5th places, respectively, separated by only a few 100ths of a second. Off the start of the opening moto, Cianciarulo got out with the lead racers and was running in 4th. Ferrandis ran into some difficulty early on (bad start and a minor accident) and triggered the AMA’s lap counter in 14th place after the opening lap. Cianciarulo, battling with KTM’s Aaron Plessinger and Ty Masterpool (Kawasaki), dropped back a bit in the ensuing laps, from 4th to 6th/7th. But he’d eventually make those spots back up, getting past Plessinger on Lap 4, and fast privateer Masterpool on the 15th and final lap to secure 4th place in the moto. Ferrandis battled like the champion he is on the tough, deep-rutted High Point course, eventually clawing his way back to a descent 7th place moto finish.

Moto 2

A ripping start by Cianciarulo put him in 2nd place behind Suzuki’s Ken Roczen in Moto 2 – a spot the Floridian would hold for the first eight (of 16) laps. Ferrandis fared far better off the start and opening lap of the second 450 moto, coming around in 5th place on Lap 1 and moving into 4th a few laps later. By mid-race, overall winner Jett Lawrence (Honda) would move back into the mix-up front (following a crash) and Cianciarulo dropped down to 3rd. This set up an all-Monster Energy battle between veterans and former champions Cianciarulo and Ferrandis that grabbed the crowd’s attention. Ferrandis would win the battle, passing Cianciarulo on Lap 12 and holding the power on through the checkers for 3rd. Cianciarulo would get the last laugh, however, with a podium 3rd place overall (4-4) to Ferrandis’ 4th place overall (7-3) at High Point.

250

Moto 1

Justin Cooper (Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha), the previous week’s No. 1 qualifier and No. 2 overall points racer, would have a tough get-off in the second qualifier, which ended his day. This left Deegan to carry the No. 1 250 qualifier torch for the Star Racing team, which he did, clocking a blistering 2:20.801 best lap – the only 250 racer to go sub-2:21 in qualifying on the day. Off the start, Deegan got out in 2nd place, right behind RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna). Joining Deegan in the top five early on were DiFrancesco in 4th and Hymas in 5th. Shimoda would go down on the opening corner and had to play catch up the remainder of the race – on a very difficult/rutted track. On Lap 8 (of 15) Deegan would inherit the lead when Hampshire crashed, and took that No. 1 spot to the final lap when Deegan got held up by a lapped rider and Hampshire was able to catch up – and bump pass – Deegan on the moto’s final lap. Shimoda would almost magically race back to a 7th place finish, which set him up nicely for a top five overall.

Moto 2

Right out of the start, Deegan went down entering turn one, which kept him from winning the overall. Teammate Kitchen would pull the hole shot, but would get passed by Hymas for the early lead. This, along with DiFrancesco getting out in 3rd place, gave Monster Energy the 1st/2nd/3rd positions early on in the contest, which they’d hold for the first several laps. Hymas ran strong up front for the first six laps, only to get caught and passed by eventual race winner Hunter Lawrence (Honda). From a 5th place start, Shimoda ran a smart race with very few mistakes, and put himself in podium position by Lap 11. Shimoda got by Hymas for 4th, then Kitchen – on the final lap – to take the third and final podium position. Deegan would rail all the way back from dead last to 6th to secure 3rd place overall on the day (2-6).

Notes & Quotes

• “I’m still here. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m excited about it.” — Cianciarulo
• Chase Sexton (Honda) was scheduled to (possibly) make his return to racing following a Rd. 2 crash/injury in qualifying (he was on the High Point rider entry list). But – ultimately – did not boot up on Saturday. Sexton has another week off to recover before RedBud (July 1).
• “We found a good setup, and I was able to push hard, which I wasn’t able to do in the last three rounds.” — Ferrandis
• “I had a small crash (Moto 1) which cost me a good race.” — Ferrandis
• “We had some fun. It was a good battle. I enjoyed it.” — Deegan (on his Moto 1 battle with RJ Hampshire)
• Scary crash for Cooper in the second 250 qualifying session. The veteran 250 racer, who was in 2nd place overall in the series point chase, high sided – at speed – in the roller section and injured his neck, having to be transported to the local hospital.
• A note from Cooper on Sunday said he was out of the hospital and back in Florida recovering.
• 250 race winner Hunter Lawrence was caught illegally jumping during a red flag and docked seven (7) championship race points. The infraction did not affect the outcome of the High Point race, but allowed Deegan to inch closer in the overall point chase, which stands at 175-147.
• The AMA Pro Motocross Championship takes next weekend off before returning to action for the RedBud MX National.