Max Anstie on San Diego Incident with Haiden Deegan: “I Didn’t Want to Play the Game”

Oh, boy, the 250SX West Division has some heat heading into round 3 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Anaheim. 

Title contenders—and teammates—Haiden Deegan and Max Anstie are locked in a close title fight with each having a win through two rounds, and last night in the 250SX main event in San Diego, their worlds collided.

Anstie, who won the opener in Anaheim, held the early lead but was losing time to Deegan mid-way through the race. Deegan quickly caught him and when he went for the pass he put a little extra sauce on it and Anstie went down. Deegan cruised to his first win of 2026, while Anstie worked back to fifth. 

After the race, Anstie talked about the incident. 

“That was impressive. I actually genuinely didn’t want to play the game,” he said on the broadcast post-race. “I know who I’m racing against but fair play. Straight up, I have to take it on the chin. I’m a big boy. That’s fine. No problem. I didn’t except that. Wow. I gotta go back and do some work. Didn’t really want to play the game, it is what it is. I thought I was a big enough guy to stay out of the way, but hey… fair play.” 

Through two rounds, Deegan holds a one point lead in the championship heading into Anaheim 2 on Saturday.