Image: Octopi Media.

After holding the red plate during the early stages of the 250SX West season, Julien Beaumer explained that being in the championship hunt was ‘a learning curve’ this year, with the teenager working to adapt to the variety of conditions throughout the season.

Finishing with 2-1-2 scores across the opening three rounds of the series, the Arizona native found adversity when the season headed further east, with the ruts combined with a shoulder injury seeing a downturn in the Red Bull KTM rider’s results.

Topping qualifying and a second-place main event finish in Denver was a welcome return to form for Beaumer, who cited Philadelphia’s defeat as a turning point for his season. The title was clinched by Haiden Deegan with a round to spare.

“It took the ass beating in Philly to show that I really needed to look at myself in the mirror and figure something out,” reflected the 19-year-old. “My first time in this position, though, it was a learning curve for sure.

“I struggled a bit when we went east, I wasn’t great in the ruts at the beginning, and I think I got frustrated too quickly. I got frustrated, and I was beating myself up [too much] in a sense, so we’ll look at those things, aim to get better in the ruts, and try to come back for this title next year.”

Overall, it’s been a successful sophomore year for Beaumer in the 250SX division, with one win to his name and a further three podiums, situating him third in the overall season standings with one round remaining in Salt Lake City this weekend.