Beaumer to Red Bull KTM

This kid looks like he has a high ceiling.   Doesn't look like he's been burned down at a training facility for 10 years.   I would expect him to improve very fast at the pro level.   Love watching him ride.  

MURRIETA, Calif. – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has signed Julien Beaumer to a multi-year contract that will see the talented teenager contest the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) in the 250 Class, spanning across AMA Supercross, AMA Pro Motocross, and the SMX Finals series from 2024.

Beaumer will make his debut onboard the factory KTM 250 SX-F during this weekend's penultimate round of the Pro Motocross Championship at Budds Creek, followed by Ironman Raceway's final round of the season on August 26 to build experience at the professional level and officially begin working with the Red Bull KTM team in a competitive environment.

It's been a rapid path to the pro ranks for 17-year-old Beaumer, beginning this year as a privateer and showcasing his capabilities from the outset in Supercross Futures. He was then drafted into the KTM Orange Brigade amateur program during February and went on to claim back-to-back Main Event victories in both Glendale and East Rutherford.

RedBud's opening Moto Combine event of the Pro Motocross season saw Beaumer qualify quickest and then record a best race result of second position in moto two, further illustrating his potential both indoors and outdoors.

Beaumer was also a standout at the beginning of August in the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn's, winning two of the three 250 Pro Sport motos and ultimately finishing fourth overall. That momentum sets the Arizona native up for his first-career Pro Motocross appearance this Saturday, August 19.

Julien Beaumer: "Being a part of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team means the world to me. I've worked my entire life to get to this point and I can't thank everybody enough for the opportunity to ride for such an amazing team. My goals for these last two rounds are to learn each weekend, get better with that experience, see where we stack up, and also what we need to improve on going into next year."

Ian Harrison, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: "We are excited to welcome Julien to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and look forward to having him debut with the team at Budds Creek this weekend. Julien really showed up on our radar at the Anaheim 2 Supercross Futures race this year, where he demonstrated impressive skills and natural talent as a privateer entry. He has been such a pleasant and super-nice kid to deal with, all the while very motivated and driven. I’m happy we were able to enter into an agreement and have him join our Orange Brigade amateur program earlier this year and we have been watching him very closely ever since. His winning performances at both Glendale and East Rutherford really stood out and we are now excited to see what we can achieve together as he transitions into this next chapter of professional racing. Our goal right now is for Julien to gain racing experience alongside the factory team at the last two motocross nationals and then to turn his focus to preparing for his first season in the 2024 AMA Supercross series."

So, basically confirming Maximus is out over there right? Wasn't Kitchen talking to them as well? If Vohland to PC doesn't work out where does he go?

Pulp said Clubmx has been talking to Vohland as well. 

I'm stoked for Beaumer. All he needed was good equipment and he was on his way. (His performances since signing with Orange Brigade are a good indicator.) 

Bummer for Vohland, though. I hope he lands on his feet.

Club MX going to ride KTM/Husky/Gasgas next year? Yamaha contract was up?

Hopefully it's a multi year deal. 

The press release only mentions 2024 so I would guess it only extends to that year. It would be in keeping with their contracts for the 250 program lately 

From the press release for Beaumer...

MURRIETA, Calif. – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has signed Julien Beaumer to a multi-year contract

I can’t read

LOL! no worries!

That press release said they picked him up as a privateer. Didn’t he and bennick swap from star to ktm and vice versa? Or am I smoked? 

He wasn't on Star just a Yamaha

Vohland, in person,  looks so incredible. Maybe a different bike will help

Same! I completely glossed over that part too. 

I think he (Max) will be an excellent 450 rider. He was jumping braking bumps and such just like Jett was at Millville, and very smooth doing so. I think they have a similar style when riding. 

Go bobo 

I personally thought he had the best style on the track at Unadilla. When I would watch a section and watch every guy hit it, Max stands out the most. He's wicked. Doesn't make him the fastest obviously but man he looks SO good

Reckon Beaumer could turn around the KTM 250 drought?

Kid is very impressive already on a good day and he's at that point where he'll likely still progress noticeably in a decent time period.

Good luck to him.  I hope he doesn’t join the long line of talented up-and-comers whose careers were stunted by KTM’s pathetic AMA 250cc development effort.  He certainly has the talent to make it happen.  When was the last time an Orange Brigade kid made it to the KTM 450 team?

Exactly what the Supercross Futures program was designed for: foster SX skills as a stepping stone into professional racing. I'd never heard of Beaumer before Anaheim 2 this year. I'd imagine most people hadn't. But he clearly had/has skills.

Congrats to Julien and his family! Look forward to seeing him grow as a rider over the coming seasons.  

Direct path, no one is coming to mind. On a bit of a weird path, Jason Anderson did eventually end up winning a title on a Husky 450 after being one of their top-am kids in Schoolboy / 250 B era. The program pretty much died, he went to Team Green for his A year, then to Bobby Hewitt pro on a Suzuki, then KTM with Hewitt (won 250 title), then Husky with Hewitt (won 450 title).

Another indirect path was Osborne, he was the face of KTM amateur program in the early to mid 2000s, got dropped, went to YOT, the team fell apart...went to Europe for Dixon...came back to the USA with Geico...ended up at Husky and won multiple titles.

Since Grant Langston picked up their first US championship in 2003, the KTM group has won a total of seven 125/250F titles. Five of them have been Supercross regional titles, and only two have been Pro Motocross (Langston and Osborne).

Only one of the seven titles has been won by someone without MXGP/MX2 experience (Jason Anderson 250 West 2014).

Since 2003, the year they won their first US little bike title, they have won 15 MX2 championships (more than double). That's with only one title available per year, compared to the three available in the USA per year, for this statistic.

Juju will be Enjoying the Ride for the next several years as well 

Excited to see what this kid can do!

Unless they consider the rest of 2023 year one and 2024 second of multiple year.

I'm going off a conversation with someone in the KTM group I spoke to when they first picked him up. I'm fairly sure it was something like they signed him for 23' and 24', with the option to extend two years for 25' and 26'. I think that was more based on them originally thinking they would have Julian as an amateur in 23 and 24, and the two-year option would cover his pro deal. It's probably been reworked with him going pro now though.

Press release clearly says it's for 24 and beyond, probably still on his amateur contract fro the balance of 23

Casey Cochran is also racing the last two nationals. 

He'll race the final two rounds, and then drop back down to amateur to race the SMX World All-Stars at the LA Coliseum. 

Out of curiosity, what happens if he scores enough points to earn a pro national number? Will he be forced to move up full time?

Usually when an amateur rider races the last few rounds they end up moving up the following year, so earning a pro national number makes no difference. 

Seems like they're kind of handling things as they come with the SMX rules and such. I'd think that they let him stay lower but who knows. Sometimes it seems like moto and the NCAA share the same decision making process

They'll earn the number but don't have to turn pro. Ryder D earned his national number last year and raced SX futures in 2023. 

Mark Fineis is also moving up this weekend.