Most Impressive: A2
January 28, 2025
Image from Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Round 3 back in Angel Stadium… Who were the Most Impressive riders from each class?
450 Class: Ken Roczen
Three rounds in and Ken Roczen has the red plate: he’s your points leader! We all know Kenny is perfectly capable but he hasn’t shown much consistency in the past few years… I seriously doubt anyone would have expected him to be leading the points after 3 rounds. Sure… it is only 3 races (we have 14 left… many more to go), but to think out of this entire field he has been the most consistent is surprising. Or at the very least, super impressive!
It’s not just consistency and taking advantage of other rider’s problems, but also showing a lot of speed while he’s been at it. At A2, he basically matched Jett’s fastest lap and had a better ideal lap time (only Tomac had a faster ideal time). He struggled for a couple laps to get around Anderson which allowed Jett to pull ahead, but one can only wonder if he could have pressured Jett for the entire race if had solidified 2nd faster.
In reference to the race, this is what Roczen had to say:
“It’s an absolute dream. After I was in position last week for a possible third, I came back [to the truck and] was thinking it would be so rad to share a red plate with Eli. And just to have a red plate, it’s been a long time, especially on a Suzuki. I wasn’t able to make [a win] happen tonight. This was an absolutely insane race. We were in a battle the whole way, and it was awesome. With the rain and how hardpacked the dirt was, it was very slippery out there, but I just kept my focus the whole way… After making a [first] pass stick on Jason I hit neutral, and he got me back. I was bummed because it's a lot of work to get by.”During the press conferences, he has seemed genuinely happy so far. The bike, the tracks… he’s enjoying it all!
250 Class: Haiden Deegan
And finally, this is the Deegan we were all expecting. After a couple less than ideal rounds, he came out swinging with basically a perfect day (he didn’t qualify fastest, but other than that was untouchable). I think a few were starting to get concerned after the first two rounds that this title was gonna be harder for him than expected, but he silenced a lot of doubts with this ride at A2. Statement for sure… especially with the assertive move on Beaumer in the heat race.
Deegan entered the series with A LOT of hype: it was hard to imagine anyone straight up beating him. Rides like this show why. He’s oozing with confidence and deservedly so; he seems to feed off of negative energy, and loves proving the haters wrong.
In the press conference he mentioned:“You pissed off the bull last week. Juju ran his mouth so it’s time to lock in. You don’t want to piss me off because I come out swinging. A big thanks to my team, they put a lot of work in this week. We grinded from morning until the end of the day, multiple times. We got the bike dialed… keep talking and I’ll come out swinging.”Ultimately, after a so-so start to the season, just straight up dominating A2 is a super impressive rebound.
