TOM VIALLE DEFENDS 250SX EAST TITLE

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Tom Vialle has successfully defended his 250SX East title in the 2025 AMA Supercross Championship, following the Salt Lake City seasonal finale where Chase Sexton also claimed his 7th 450SX victory of the year.

At just 24 years of age, Vialle adds a second AMA Supercross title to his resume onboard the KTM 250 SX-F Factory Edition, in addition to the pair of MX2 World Championships that he earned in 2020 and 2022. The Frenchman relocated to the U.S. ahead of the 2023 season, where he made a highly-anticipated American Supercross debut before charging to a maiden 250SX East Championship in 2024.

Since then, Vialle has pieced together convincing indoor and outdoor campaigns as part of the wider SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX), becoming a title contender in each series. This year’s 250SX East division championship didn’t come easily, as the defending champion began the opening two rounds outside of the podium positions and had to work his way back to the podium throughout the season.

Tom Vialle:
 “I can’t believe this, to be honest! I got a good start behind Haiden [Deegan], and I was feeling good, then I started to make a couple of mistakes, and both Seth [Hammaker] and RJ [Hampshire] got me, so then I was about five seconds back. I saw them both down in the corner, and I couldn’t believe it – I thought, ‘This is crazy!’ There were still about four laps to go, and I just did it from there to clinch the title. The speed was really high this year from everyone and I lost a lot of points in the mud at Foxborough, but overall I just tried to stay steady, and that’s what paid off in the end. I came to the United States to win Supercross titles, so to have two now is insane! Two championships are hard to win, so this feels really good to achieve this with the whole Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team.”

250SX West contender Julien Beaumer continued the solid momentum gained last weekend in Denver, finishing in P2 and elevating himself to P2 position in the western division’s final standings. Beaumer claimed one win and a further four podiums, concluding the 2025 season undoubtedly successful for the number 23 who will look to take that same form into Pro Motocross later this month.

Julien Beaumer:
“I’m really happy with how my riding was in these last two rounds, it really came back around, and my biggest takeaway from this championship is just consistency. I had that mid-season slump and a couple of tough races, so for me, it’s about being consistent. Tonight I was racing hard for position there in the Main Event, and we’re happy to come away with second place.”

In 450SX, Sexton powered to the fastest qualifying time and cleared out a 10-second margin in the Main Event for its victory and Sexton’s 7th 450SX win of the series. As a result, he was credited second position in the standings after Yamaha’s Cooper Webb ultimately secured his third 450SX title with his calculated fourth-place finish. The 2023 450SX champion finished on the podium 12 times this season, with an additional 5 wins – one of his most impressive seasons to date, and just two-points shy of the crown.

Chase Sexton: 
“Today, I think I did everything that I could’ve done. Obviously, we came up short on the championship, which is a bummer and it’s a tough pill to swallow, but Cooper [Webb] had a great season. We were able to achieve seven race wins this year, and throughout the season I became a much more complete rider, having learned from some of my mistakes, so I’ll take that and head into the outdoors. I am proud of what we were able to achieve together with the team and am happy to beat my personal season win record with seven this year.”

Teammate Aaron Plessinger, who this week was announced to have re-signed with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for 2026, picked up a victory in the second 450SX Heat Race. Plessinger went on to claim another holeshot in the Main Event, followed by a conservative ride resulting in a P6 result and finishing the championship in sixth overall. Plessinger’s 2025 season saw him deliver five podium finishes alongside a second-career victory in the Foxborough mud.

Aaron Plessinger: 
“Salt Lake City was a pretty good race. I struggled to find a setting that worked for me in qualifying, but by the time we got to the Heat Race, it was working awesome! I got a holeshot there and won the thing, which was good. Holeshotted again in the Main, but I saw that I was around both Coop and Chase, and panicked a bit – I doubled the whole way down a rhythm lane and lost a lot of positions, then struggled to recover from there. That was my night in Salt Lake, but it’s time to regroup and head outdoors. We’ll be going for it!”

Focus now shifts to the upcoming AMA Pro Motocross Championship, which commences at Fox Raceway in Pala, California, on Saturday, May 24.