Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing has withdrawn both its 250 and 450 teams from consideration for the 2026 MXoN in Ernée, France, and the move immediately changes the Team USA picture. Haiden Deegan and Justin Cooper are now off the list of potential riders.
The decision was announced in Marietta, GA, and it lands at a moment when the Team USA lineup had only recently started to come into focus. A potential roster had included Deegan and Cooper on YZ450F machines, with Levi Kitchen in the 250cc division, before a separate projection surfaced naming Levi Kitchen, Garrett Marchbanks and Chance Hymas.
For the people following the roster battle, that is the real significance of the withdrawal: Team USA will not have a single Star Yamaha rider in France if the decision stands. The absence is not just about two names coming off a list. It removes a factory-backed option that had seemed to be moving toward the gate.
Jim Roach said the team made a difficult decision to step back from this year’s MXoN competition after numerous discussions between team principals and Yamaha management. He said the group wanted to prioritize the health and safety of its riders and give the entire team time to recover from the 2026 season. Roach also said the squad wants to stay focused on preparation for the upcoming 2027 SMX season.
The practical side of the call is harder to ignore. Sending several bikes overseas means shipping, conversion work and FIM spec changes, and the Yamaha squad was asking for a hefty sum of money to do it. That helps explain why the trip became a bridge too far even before the roster question was settled.
That is where the friction sits. A lineup that had appeared to include Deegan and Cooper was later ruled out once Yamaha withdrew, leaving Team USA without the Star Yamaha support that had been in play just days earlier. The final roster is still unsettled, but Yamaha’s exit has already narrowed the path and made the remaining choices more consequential.
