Slaw
Race Direction has released the post-race penalty report from Round 2 of the SMX World Championship Playoffs at Dignity Health Sports Park, and no penalties or fines were issued following the on-track and post-race incidents involving Cooper Webb and Haiden Deegan.
Per the release, “Race Direction reviewed rider #38 (Deegan) for potential aggressive/reckless riding involving rider #2 (Webb) in section 12 after the finish line. No penalty was assessed.”
On track, the issue stems from the closing moments of the second 450 main event. After Deegan went down in the sand, both Ken Roczen and Webb slipped past. A few moments later, Deegan caught back up to Webb and made an aggressive move that sent his teammate to the ground—and left Webb absolutely fuming.
Speaking on the TV broadcast after the race, Webb didn’t hold back, even vowing to make sure Deegan doesn’t win the SMX title at next weekend’s finale.
“I was pissed. It’s unfortunate. We are teammates, we are buddies, we are training partners and I am all for aggressive racing but I think a lack of respect from the kid is the common problem. He has no respect for anybody else. I’m bummed. I was rolling, he was obviously faster and made a mistake but still, I’m the guy at the end of the race and I’m just bummed. It’s one thing for the win…we will see what happens. One more race with this team and I will make sure he don’t win this thing that’s for sure. It will be an interesting week. I was a little bit off speed wise, I was a 4th/5th place guy. It will be a fun week.”
Things apparently didn’t end there.
Cameras later captured a heated Webb heading toward the team truck, while voices off camera could be heard shouting, “They’re fighting.” What exactly happened inside the truck remains unclear, and without clear evidence of what took place post-race, Race Direction ultimately issued no fines or penalties stemming from the incident.
So, after plenty of drama both on and off the track, the official ruling is simple: no penalties, no fines.
