Tough lessons are a commonality for any rookie athlete, and learning the wide spectrum of a craft takes both time, experience, and – sometimes – hard knocks. We saw this exact thing with Cole Davies in Denver on Saturday night, where teammate Haiden Deegan executed an aggressive move on the New Zealander to seal the 250SX West title.

Firstly, I don’t see anything wrong with Deegan’s move on Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Davies. Was it the tidiest way to do it? Probably not, but then again, the quote made famous by the late Ayrton Senna rings true here – ‘If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racing driver.’

A championship was on the line, which is something Deegan has worked his entire life to achieve, and an opportunity to realize this was dished up right before him in that moment. There shouldn’t be any other expectation of what he was going to do with an open door, in my opinion.

Image: Octopi Media.

Nevertheless, it’s a stinger since Davies is a very likable character, and seeing him cut a dejected figure post-race with his head in his hands was an emotional sight. We saw the same thing with Jett Lawrence once upon a time, when he tried to go around the outside of Christian Craig on the final lap and got knocked out of a podium position. He was also sitting emotionally on the side of the race track… the similarities are eerie.

Which brings us to the point – these are some of the tough lessons a young rider must learn. I haven’t seen Lawrence make the same mistake since, and I can almost guarantee that we won’t see it out of Davies either, who took an admirable amount of accountability on the podium post-race.

“I got caught up with some lappers, and I should’ve capitalized on that better,” commented Davies. “That’s on me tonight, I shouldn’t have put myself in that position, but I’ll be back, keeping working hard, and keep on keeping on.

“I just shouldn’t have put myself in that position, to be honest,” he continued when prompted on the pass. “I could’ve been better in that department, but I’ll be back.”

Image: Octopi Media.

It’s this approach that will allow Davies to go far, recognizing a mistake and learning from the lesson, that’s how champions are made. As for Deegan, he acknowledged that passing in that manner isn’t how he had it drawn up, but if the opening was there, he was going for it, as any top racer should.

If he were to win, Davies would have had to finish fifth or worse to be crowned. That’s precisely what played out in Colorado’s penultimate round of the series, and, as a result, Deegan managed to lift the western division trophy with a round to spare.

“That’s what I was raised to do, is win on a dirtbike, and I’m going to take the shot if it’s there and he left the door open,” Deegan recalled. “If you watch it back, it wasn’t a horrible, dirty move. I tapped him, and he went over the berm.

“It was a little unfortunate, actually, because it looked like he got stuck, and I was like, ‘There is no way that he is stuck, I’m going to win the championship now,’ which was kind of crazy to me. Obviously, it’s not the way that you want to win it, but it’s racing, and that’s how it goes, and I’ll do anything to win.”

Image: Octopi Media.

Do anything, indeed. Ever since Deegan threw a leg over a motorcycle, a Supercross championship would’ve been the dream, as it is for Davies, Lawrence, or anyone else. And though he had a points buffer and arguably could’ve saved it until Salt Lake, that’s also not promised.

Seven days, a bike malfunction during the week, an illness like Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) had on the weekend – there are too many variables to indicate that one should take the chance when the opportunity arises. No questions asked.

As for Davies, he’s young, full of talent, and with a solid head on his shoulders. A fan favorite to boot, I have no doubt that his day will come, and that a slight tweak of his racecraft will mean that the door is firmly closed the next time.