Time to Shine | A New Field of Rookies 3

The 2024 season of Monster Energy Supercross is upon us and discussions of which riders will make the most of their off-seasons, team changes, and past results have been extensive. With both 250 Supercross champions, Jett and Hunter Lawrence, moving to the premier class full-time, we will have two first-time champions in the class.

What we know is that some of the returning 250 riders are poised to take their places at the top step of the podium. Jo Shimoda returns to the class with his new team, HRC Honda, after finishing the season strong with an SMX win in Charlotte. Last year’s rookie sensation, Haiden Deegan, will be a force on his Star Racing Yamaha as he ended the '23 SX season in second place and won the SMX championship. We can also expect riders such as RJ Hampshire, Max Anstie, and Levi Kitchen to step up their game. 

What is unknown is how the rookie class will stack up. There are eleven rookies we are excited to watch in 2024. Daxton Bennick (Star Yamaha), Nick Romano (Star Yamaha), Ryder DiFrancesco (TLD/Red Bull/GasGas), Chance Hymas (HRC Honda), Evan Ferry (Triumph Racing), Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM), Preston Boespflug (BarX Suzuki), Jett Reynolds (Muc-Off/FXR/ClubMX Yamaha), Guillem Farres (Rockstar Husqvarna), Lux Turner (AEO Powersports KTM), and Casey Cochran (Rockstar Husqvarna) are all geared up for their freshmen season of Supercross. 

There is great anticipation with some of these names. DiFrancesco, Beaumer, Bennick, Hymas, and Cochran have all won Supercross Futures races. Hymas even raced four rounds of the East series last year, but this will be the first full season for these rookies. Lining up each week with veterans of the 250 class and the expectations and pressures of racing at the highest level will test their character and fortitude. 

As media and fans, what should the expectations be? Many riders have said it takes a couple of years to adapt and figure it out. Unfortunately, they often don’t have a couple of years to figure it out before the teams decide to move on. If we look at the history of the sport, how important is a rider’s rookie season to their career in the long term? 

Looking at the last nine riders to win 450 championships, Carmichael and Chad Reed were the only two who won the championship their rookie seasons in the regional series. Eli Tomac and James Stewart finished second, and Ryan Villopoto finished third in theirs. Ryan Dungey and Cooper Webb were fifth, Chase Sexton was sixth, Jeremy McGrath was eighth, and Jason Anderson was fifteenth. 

What do those results say about the importance of a rookie season? Aside from Jason Anderson, every past premier class champion had podiums in their first-season results. Most had a few poor results which should be expected out of a rookie, but they all showed they were front runners early on. Winning a 450 championship is not the only way to define a successful career though. We can look at Ken Roczen or Justin Barcia, who both have had incredible careers with no premier Supercross championships. They finished sixth and second, respectively, in their rookie seasons. Both had multiple wins and podiums. 

Not winning a championship or even individual races during a rookie season can not be looked at as a failure, but having good, consistent results is a high priority. The rookies must prove they belong at the highest level by running close to the front and learning from the veterans. A bad race or two isn’t the end of the world, but finishing outside the top ten multiple times will not bode well. 

The riders understand what is expected and that they must take advantage of this opportunity. The pressure to perform quickly could be a lot to handle for some, so we contacted the '24 rookie class to ask them about their expectations and nerves.

Casey Cochran: “Supercross Futures helped with racing under the lights and in front of the fans last year, so I don’t think it will be too bad. My main goal is to get experience and stay healthy, but I’m always on the track to try and win and do my best. I’m going to put it all out there. I don’t have a set expectation, but I want to get a top five.”

Nick Romano: “The nerves right now are pretty low. We’re focusing on training and making it to the race. The biggest nerves will be in the first round. I’ll take it as it goes. My expectations are just to be at every race. I’ve had a rough past year and a half, so I want to show up and do the laps. I plan to be in the top 10 at the first one and slowly get better.”

Daxton Bennick: “There will be nerves, but with how we’ve prepped and trained, I know what I’m capable of. I’m confident in myself, but it would be weird if you didn’t have nerves. I expect to get good starts and run with the front group. With the speed at which I’m going, that’s very possible. I want to get holeshots and build confidence. I think I can build up and win one.”

Ryder DiFrancesco: “You have your realistic goals and your big goals. My goals are top fives, being in the mix for a podium, and wins at every single round. I get good starts and expect to be in the fight to capitalize on what happens.”

Guillem Farres: “I’m not the type to get nervous, and the team is not putting pressure on me. My goal is to be at every round. My bike is in a good spot, but once we go racing, we’ll see where we are and improve the bike. The results will come. It’s a matter of time and experience.”

Evan Ferry: “I’m not stressing about it too much. I’m sure there will be nerves once I’m at the races. Anyone who is a rookie who says they’re not nervous is lying. I like to perform under pressure, so just executing and doing all I can is the plan. I want to go and have fun.”

These young men have grown up watching the stars of the sport in Supercross since they were young children. Just like the rest of us, they are fans and have dreamed about lining up to race professional Supercross. Racing in a stadium under the lights will be a dream come true for these young men. We asked them how it feels to know that dream is coming true and what their first memories of seeing Supercross are.

Evan Ferry: “Once I’ve done the first race, get home and sit down, it will probably hit me. It hasn’t hit yet. My first Supercross memory is from 2006 or 2007. I was in my mom’s arms, looking down out of a press box and watching. I don’t remember what I saw, but I have a picture in my brain of that moment.”

Ryder DiFrancesco: “The dream probably won’t set in until I finish my first main event, or it could happen walking down the tunnel. My first memory of SX is going to A1 and watching Stew (James Stewart) and (Chad) Reed going at it. Then I remember the TLD boys winning A1. (Cole) Seely, (Jessy) Nelson and (Shane) McElrath were always so good there. I look forward to putting the bike up there because I’ve watched them do it over the years.”

Daxton Bennick: “From my previous experience with Futures, I thought, ‘Wow, I’m really doing this.’ So, I can’t imagine how it will be my first race as a pro. My first memory is watching in my basement with all my family. I liked Dungey at that time.”

Nick Romano: “It’s crazy. I’m just going to enjoy it and have fun. For my first Supercross, what comes to mind is Stew in Toronto in 2014. I’ve watched that race close to 50 times. There’s something special about it. There was a 3, 4, 3, he was doing before the triple that was sick.”

Other than riding and training, a tool these kids can use is listening to the knowledge and experience of their veteran teammates. Riders who have been there before and know the pitfalls can help alleviate some mistakes. So, what advice have they gotten leading up to the first gate drop?

Guillem Farres: “RJ (Hampshire) has been super helpful. Christian (Craig), Malcolm (Stewart), and AP (Aaron Plessinger) give me tips around the track, but I talk about racing with RJ. He said, ‘My rookie year was terrible. Don’t make my mistakes.’ He tells me that I look better than he did when he went racing and that I will make mistakes. He told me I must stay on two wheels and keep going every race. He also helps with bike set up.”

Evan Ferry: “My dad told me to stay healthy. As far as my teammates, visually studying them has helped. For example, watching their entry speed into the whoops. Joey Savatgy grabs a handful of throttle right before he enters the whoops. He gets a big boost of speed to get on top.”

Daxton Bennick: “They say be there every weekend and don’t throw it away in the first round.”

Casey Cochran: “All my teammates give great advice. Especially, RJ. His rookie season was a long time ago. They all have a ton of experience, and they pass it down. Something that stands out is talking to Big James (Stewart). We talked about the fans in the stands, and he said, ‘When you look up and see all the people, you have to think of someone you like. You should picture a bunch of Mickey Mouses up there instead of fans.’ I said, ‘Alright, dude.’”

Certainly, they won’t all be champions. Their success or lack thereof will be discussed in articles such as this, podcasts, and forums, but in reality, each rider will determine what success is to them. From the outside some riders, DiFrancesco, Hymas, and Bennick, for example, have more expectations on them than Cochran and Boespflug. Those outside expectations will play into discussions and articles covering the 2024 season, and it will be interesting to look back after SLC and see how each of these riders persevered. The past may be written, but the future is not set. Time will tell what these ten rookie’s careers will be, but for now, all they can do is line up and race.