Tyler Collingwood
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We’re Vurbmoto, we grew up in the grassroots of moto. We’ve spent a million hours at amateur races across the country living off of PB&J, and we have the stomach aches to prove it. So, when it comes time for riders to turn pro, we keep an eye on them as they make that leap. We enlisted one of our amateur experts Tyler Collingwood, to give us a rookie report after each race. Ty gives you all the stats, a breakdown, and grades them weekly. Here are his final grades for the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Championship.
Julien Beaumer – Red Bull KTM
Qualifying – 4th
Heat – 8th
Main – 22nd
Overall Grade – A
250 West Coast – 7th
While Juju’s season did not end the way he wanted it to, it was a hell of a rookie season for the 18-year-old, who celebrated his birthday at the final round. Julien had a good night going for himself until the main where he was coming through the pack and unfortunately got tangled up with Seth Hammaker, which ended the night. Juju received the Rookie of the Year Award and the AMA nailed it. Julien had a fantastic rookie year with seven top tens, won a lcq, and made the main every round and showed us that he can battle up front a little bit. Beaumer showed the rest of the industry that he is going to be a threat in upcoming years and I’m excited to see what he can do outdoors.
Ryder DiFrancesco – Troy Lee Designs / Red Bull GasGas
Qualifying – 11th
Heat – 9th
Main – 13th
Overall – B
250 West Coast – 12th
Overall it was a very solid season for the kid we have watched grow up racing. Ryder D took on the west coast for his rookie year and it was somewhat of a roller coaster. Ryder did have some super solid weekends. He managed to get inside the top ten four times this season and even lead some laps throughout the year. Ryder seemed to struggle a bit mid season, but after the west coast break, he seemed to come back a lot more confident in himself and the bike. I do not believe we have seen this kid’s full potential on the supercross track and there is a lot more in the tank.
Daxton Bennick – Monster Energy / Star Racing Yamaha
Qualifying – 14th
Heat – 2nd
Main – 17th
Grade – B+
250 East Coast – 9th
Daxton was my pick for rookie of the year and had a strong resume but I think some of the inconsistency may have caused him to fall short to Beaumer. Dax got 2nd in his heat race at Salt Lake, which was like a main event with it being a showdown. Dax had seven top tens, two top fives, one of those being a podium at Detroit. When Dax could get a good start and get behind one of the top guys, he would ride phenomenal and would hang right there with them. We saw him do this multiple times where he would get behind a guy like Deegan and just follow him the whole race without losing much time. The kid has the talent and the speed. If the starts get dialed in and Dax can come out of the first turn in the top 5, I think we could have seen him on the podium multiple times.
Nick Romano – Monster Energy / Star Racing Yamaha
Qualifying – 17th
Heat – 6th
LCQ – 19th
Overall Grade – C+
250 East Coast – 13th
Romano had a rough go in the main in Salt Lake, but as I stated above, these heats were like a main event. Romano had a phenomenal heat, finishing in sixth. That would have tied his best finish for the year as he finished sixth at Indy. Romano only missed one main event, which was a showdown race but managed to make every main event beyond that. To me, the biggest thing for Nick this season was to stay healthy and he did that. With someone who has struggled with injuries the last year or two, I think this was the biggest point Nick needed to prove, that he can stay healthy. Nick is extremely talented on the bike outdoors and I think a lot of people are in for a surprise when the Pro Motocross Championship starts. His results were not the best for SX, but there were many moments where Nick was in the top ten and small mistakes would push him just out of that. Nick’s contract is up at the end of the outdoor season and I really hope to see him stay on Star and get another chance at SX because I think he can be a top five guy.
Anthony Bourdon – Toyota of Redlands Bar X Suzuki
Qualifying – 16th
Heat – 19th
LCQ – 2nd
Main – 18th
Overall Grade – A
250 West Coast – 8th
I have to give it up for the 25-year-old rookie. Anthony took the challenge of coming over to America, joining a small team on a bike that people say can’t be competitive, and proved them wrong. Bourdon had four top tens, with his best finish being a sixth at A2 and San Fran. Anthony was able to qualify for every main event, I can’t even remember the last time Suzuki had a guy in the main event every round for a whole 250 season. The Frenchman even raced a few rounds on a 450 where qualified for two main events in the premiere class. A super solid year for Bourdon, just coming onto the scene and fighting against those factory kids who are younger than him.
Preston Boespflug – Toyota of Redlands Bar X Suzuki
Qualifying – 38th
Heat – 12th
LCQ – 3rd
Main – 21st
Overall Grade – B
250 East Coast – 15th
At the beginning of the year I wasn’t sure if Preston was ready for the big leagues. He seemed to struggle a bit towards the end of his amateur career. I thought maybe we might see him make one more Loretta’s run then go pro after Lorettas. Bar X announced that Preston had joined the team and would be making his SX debut on the East Coast. Preston came out of the gates swinging and started the year off with a 13th at Detroit and managed to put himself in 6 main events with one being a top 10. He also battled injury a little bit this year and fought through it to finish the year. Overall it was a super solid season and I was very impressed that Preston was able to make the amount of main events he made. Suzuki has a bright future with Boespflug and Bourdon at the wheel.
Main Image: Octopi Media
