Haiden Deegan on the Motocross of Nations: “I don’t need a starting fee”

On 28 August, the USA announced their team for the Motocross of Nations, and superstar Haiden Deegan is once again not included because Star Racing Yamaha withdrew from the event.

USA: not much choice

Unlike in previous years, the Americans don’t have much choice this year either. Others are currently winning their domestic championships: the 450 Supercross class was won by Ken Roczen from Thuringia, whilst the AMA Pro Motocross Championships were dominated by the Australian Lawrence brothers. Riders such as Jorge Prado from Spain are also going from strength to strength. The 250cc East Coast Championships were won by Cole Davies (Yamaha) from New Zealand. The only American to have won a pro championship this year is ‘dangerboy’ Deegan in the 250cc SX West Coast Championship, and, of all people, he won’t be on the starting grid at Ernée.

Deegan clarifies: It wasn’t about the money

On the sidelines of the season finale at Ironman, Deegan made it clear that it wasn’t about his entry fee. “No, I don’t need an entry fee,” he explained. “The problem is that a race like this incurs high costs for the team. The team isn’t going to travel to a race where it stands to lose a lot of money. The team has to stand up to these developments, which is exactly what they’ve done. I’m actually pleased about that, but I myself don’t need the money. You’re racing there for your country, which is really cool, but it also costs the racing team a lot of money just to get the kit there. I think it’s good that the team has stood up against this. There needs to be a change somewhere to find a solution to this.”

A racing team always costs money

Of course, Deegan is only highlighting one perspective here. For a team and a manufacturer, there’s no better stage than the Motocross of Nations, because it is and remains the most important race of the year. In the end, however, it’s a country, a federation or a national squad that wins – not a racing team. On this point, Star Racing Yamaha certainly has a valid argument, as Deegan points out. The national federations provide varying levels of support for the Motocross of Nations. Often, riders and teams have to organise things themselves, and it is not uncommon for riders to be at loggerheads with the federations. The situation facing the German team is a case in point: with Roczen and Längenfelder, they would have two champions on the starting grid, but neither of them seems keen to commit to the DMSB any longer.

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