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HAIDENDEEGAN Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Champion
It’s not often that riders in the mini-ranks get the opportunity to show up at
the Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Championship with a number one plate on their bike, but Haiden Deegan was lucky enough to have that experience in 2018. The Orange Brigade backed rider won the 65cc (7-11) class in 2017, providing him with the opportunity to defend the championship at the 37th annual running of the Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Championship. Although 2017 marked the first time that Deegan earned
gold at the Ranch, he’s easily one of the most popular and accomplished riders currently competing in amateur motocross. The California native won
a title at just about every race that he contested throughout the 2018 racing season, placing him in good standing for the big dance in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Although he hasn’t always had the best of luck at the Ranch, it seems as though he broke the mold last year with the overall win in the 65cc (7-11) class. Deegan was kitted with a gold, number one emblazoned helmet to complement the number one plate on his bike, sending a message to the competition on the gate that he was there to win. It turned out to be a rela- tively easy affair for the Californian as he ripped the holeshot in all three of
his motos, allowing him to manage each race from the front of the pack. The Team Dunlop Elite rider led all twenty-seven laps of the three moto format, clocked the fastest time in each race, and won all three motos by a hefty gap that ranged from eighteen to thirty-six seconds. It’s not an easy feat to sweep a class at the Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Championship, no matter the age group or the competition. Although Deegan won’t have the opportunity to run the number one plate next year at the Ranch, he’ll undoubt- edly be competing for his third Loretta Lynn’s number one plate in just as many years as he moves into the 85cc classes full-time.
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