On Wednesday, we ran a rookie round up from Anaheim 1, highlighting riders who made their pro Monster Energy AMA Supercross debut, including Cole Davies, Avery Long, Gavin Towers, Jett Reynolds, Parker Ross, and more. Check it out if you missed it.
Now it's time to highlight a few second-year riders from the opener: Julien Beaumer, Ryder DiFrancesco, Lux Turner, and Hunter Yoder. The first three all earned career bests at the opener, whereas Yoder’s career best is an eighth from the muddy 2024 San Francisco Supercross. All four riders showed speed and looked to be attacking the track more than ever.
2nd | #23 Julien Beaumer | KTM (first 250SX podium)
Current age: 18
250SX main event starts: 11
Julien Beaumer burst onto the scene in 2023. The A2 SX Futures program really changed the trajectory of Beaumer’s career. Until that race, he had not been a true race win contender. Then, Daniel Blair and the KTM amateur program liked what they saw in the Arizona rider on a Yamaha, who showed some true signs of understanding supercross at just 16. Even though he had a bike mechanical and did not finish the race, that night changed his life forever. Blair and KTM picked up Beaumer, who suddenly traded in his Yamaha YZ250F for an Orange Brigade KTM 250 SX-F for the following SX Futures event in his home state. He had one too many mistakes in the SX Futures championship finale that cost him the title, but there was no doubt he was a natural at supercross. For most riders, motocross comes easier. Beaumer was an outlier.
We had heard Beaumer was flying at the test track in 2024. He made all ten main events, showing flashes of speed, and earned the 250SX Rookie of the Year award, but he still did not quite show the potential that he did at the test track.
For 2025, he had a new, low national number, a new gear sponsorship, and was coming off the heals with some elevated confidence. His first go in the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) playoffs in North Carolina resulted in second overall. It was the pro breakout ride he needed. He had the ability, he just needed to believe he could replicate it each and every weekend.
Well, he came out of the gates swinging at Anaheim 1, taking top qualifying honors over pre-season title favorite, Haiden Deegan. In the second heat race, Beaumer went toe-to-toe with veteran Jordon Smith. Beaumer came out on top, then battled again in the main event. This time, that elevated confidence—and improved fitness for the entire main event—landed him second overall. He could have gotten excited and forced a pass for the win and lost it all. But he didn’t. He was thinking big picture.
“Just minimizing those mistakes that I made on race day,” he said in the post-race press conference. “I felt like I rode a lot more mature than I did last year and a lot less sporadic. So, I just rode calm, smooth, and just tried to ride like I ride at the test track. So, I think we showed that tonight, I'm one of the title contenders for this year.”
And how cool was it that he landed his first 250SX podium at the same venue that changed the path of his racing career just a few years ago?
4th | #25 Ryder DiFrancesco | GasGas
Current age: 19
250SX main event starts: 11
Ryder DiFrancesco told the media during Friday’s pre-race press conference that he put on 15 pounds in the off-season leading up to the opener. Not easy to do, but DiFrancesco needed to ride the bike more than having the bike ride him. The result? The best ride so far of his young career. Yes, young career. I caught up with him for a few minutes on Friday and we agreed it feels like he has been a pro for so long now, although this is only his second pro supercross season. The California native looked much smoother on the bike at the season opener, but he was also attacking the track more than he did in 2024. Yes, veteran Jordon Smith bested him for the final spot on the podium and Haiden Deegan was down on the opening lap and finished just one position behind him, but I believe it was a breakout ride for the #25. He had four top-tens in ten starts in 2024 without any top fives. Can he fight for podiums or even race wins this year?
He said in a post-race release:
“I had good qualifying sessions and I was near the top of the board in every session. My Heat race was good and in the Main Event I ran third until a lap and a half to go. We’re close! This was a huge confidence gain tonight and I’m excited for San Diego.”
![Ryder DiFrancesco]()
Ryder DiFrancesco Align Media ![Ryder DiFrancesco]()
Ryder DiFrancesco Align Media
11th | #65 Lux Turner | KTM
Current age: 19
250SX main event starts: 5
Huge night for Lux Turner at the season opener. In just his fifth 250SX main event start, the AEO Powersports KTM rider put in by far his best night of his young career. After a great heat race start, Turner was steady and smooth en route to a fifth-place finish. While waiting for his mechanic, Turner was greeted with a huge hug from his wrench. Then, Turner put in an 11th-place finish in the main event, earning a career best. Expect Turner to move into the top ten in the regular here moving forward.
And if you weren’t aware, being fast runs in the Turner family, as his sister Lachlan Turner earned the 2024 Women’s Motocross (WMX) Championship.
![Lux Turner was #473 in 2024 but earned national number #65 for 2025.]()
Lux Turner was #473 in 2024 but earned national number #65 for 2025. Align Media ![Lux Turner]()
Lux Turner Align Media
13th | #65 Hunter Yoder | KTM
Current age: 20
250SX main event starts: 18
Yoder has the most starts out of this group, as he turned pro as a true rookie in supercross in 2022. He did two main events that year, then made seven 250SX starts in 2023 before racing the entire ’24 250SX West Region Championship (making the main event in nine of those ten rounds). He too had a great start in his heat race, running inside the top five before finishing third behind the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing duo of Haiden Deagan and Cole Davies. He was again near the front of the group off the main event start but went down in the whoops on the opening lap, impacting his end finish. His 13th is not a career best, but he was riding well all day. He could land inside the top five of a main event if he rode like he did in the heat race. Yoder has talent, as he is a former GEICO Honda amateur who ended up stuck outside the factory trucks when that team folded. With Partzilla PRMX Kawasaki now, is he set for a breakout year?
- Supercross
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- Night ShowLiveJanuary 18 - 8:30 PM
