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Heading into this weekend and Round 7 of the 2022 Monster Energy Supercross Series in Minneapolis, there are many new possible storylines. First off, Minneapolis represents the opening round of the 250SX East Series which feature top riders like Jett Lawrence, Austin Forkner, and Jeremy Martin. Also lining up this weekend are young Canadian riders such as Tanner Ward, Guillaume St-Cyr, and Julien Benek. So while Ward and St-Cyr have a small amount of experience at the highest level in the USA, this weekend will be Benek’s first-ever professional race south of the border. We caught up with Julien as he was preparing to travel to Minneapolis for the opening round of the 250SX East Series.
MXP: Hey Julien, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. With only a few days to go before your first SX in Minneapolis, you must be busy?
JB: Yes, it’s a busy week for sure. My dad is coming down from BC and then I guess we’ll all make the long drive up to Minneapolis. I checked and it’s like 18 hours from here to Minneapolis so we’re in for a long drive.
You’ve been staying down at the South of the Border Training Facility in South Carolina. How long have you been down there?
I’ve been here about three months now so I’m pretty comfortable with the facility and the area. So far it’s been great here and they have everything you could need as a rider. The people are nice and the tracks are great. The only bad thing is that sometimes it gets cold down here. I mean, obviously not as cold as Canada but down here there have been days where it barely gets above zero.
For sure, I’ve been in South Caroling before during the winter and they do get some pretty cold weather during the mid-part of the winter. At least it only lasts for a few days usually. So everything has been going well as far as your preparation for the 250SX East Series?
Yes and no! The riding and training have been going well, the only bad thing is that I’ve been crashing a lot. As I said, although I’ve been here for three months I’ve probably only had about a month of solid riding in. The rest of the time I’ve been injured.
Well, that’s tough. So when you say injured do you mean like really injured, or just too sore to ride?
Both actually. So far I’ve had a cracked thumb, a partially torn Achilles tendon, as well as a bruised tail bone which still is bugging me even though I hurt it months ago. I don’t know, I’ve been working hard but it’s just been a steep learning curve.
That sounds like a challenging few months for you. I guess my next question is why are crashing?
Well, I would say that 90% of my crashes have come in the whoops so they have been an issue. I’ve always been good in the whoops and last fall at the Gopher Dunes SX events I was hammering through them pretty good. But then I got down here and started riding on SX track which had real whoops and I just started crashing in them. The whoops here are no joke and if you don’t use the proper technique they can get you.
From watching you at Gopher Dunes your technique looked okay. Maybe you got a little far back on the bike with your long legs, but that is easy to fix. Do you think you were just trying too hard when you arrive in South Carolina?
Most likely! I do tend to get impatient with things and then I push too hard and make mistakes. When I got down here I was confident that I had the whoops dialed so I just started sending it through them. Well, that didn’t work out so good and as I said, I have spent a lot of time on the ground as well as not riding.
So how are you in the whoops now with just days to go before the opening round of SX?
We’ve worked hard on getting me to calm down a little and right now I feel like I’m in a good place. I haven’t had as much riding as I would’ve liked but I’m just going to go this weekend and do my best.
The good thing is that in practice and qualifying you really only need one or two good laps so it’s not like you have to pin it right from the time you hit the track. Also, as far as the whoops go, in most of the eastern rounds we’ve seen in the past, they break down quickly and usually turn into jumpers.
For sure, that is what we’ve been working on here. I’m just been trying to find that comfort level where I’m going fast but not so fast that I’m making mistakes.
Does the fact that you haven’t been riding as much as you’d like to take a little pressure off you heading into this weekend? What are your expectations?
Yes, I think it takes a little pressure off. I don’t really feel any pressure as it’s my first SX and at 17 years old I don’t think there are high expectations for me. I know I have a lot to learn and it’s not going to be easy. But sometimes the only way to learn is to do it so we’ll go this weekend and try and have some fun. As far as results go this weekend, I’d like to make the night show and have a chance to race the heats and LCQ. If I can do that in my first SX then I’ll be happy.
That would be great as the 250SX East class is certainly stacked this year. Let’s go back to last summer for a minute. Before calling you I was doing some research and looking over your results from the 2021 Triple Crown Series. I know I was impressed watching you last summer, but to see your results on paper was even more impressive. You had some great motos last summer.
Yeah, thank you. I felt like I rode pretty well throughout the entire summer. Coming into the series I really had no idea where I stood and I hoping to be a consistent Top 10 rider. However, once the gate dropped I felt like my speed and fitness were good enough to run inside the top five. I don’t know, I just felt comfortable all summer long.
Did you like all of the eastern tracks?
Yes, all of the tracks in the east are fun. I like Sand Del Lee and Deschambault was an awesome track also. Gopher Dunes was fun and for all of the talk about how rough it gets, I didn’t find it to be all that bad. And of course, Walton Raceway was just awesome to race a National on as always. It’s just such a fun track with the ruts and the elevation changes, I’ve been going there for years and it’s such a fun OG track.
So you didn’t find Gopher Dunes that rough? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that before.
It was rough and the weather was hot which made it even more challenging. But before the nationals, I spent a lot of time training at this track back home called 8-Road. It’s just this rough sand track in Richmond, BC that we all ride at. It’s so rough and so crappy that it made Gopher Dunes feel not so bad.
Well, that’s hard to do. I’ve heard Ryan Lockhart talk about how rough the 8-Road track is so it must be crazy. Well, you had a great summer and you showed some solid speed in the 250 class. After riding Yamaha’s for pretty much your entire career, for 2022 you’ve signed with the PR-MX Kawasaki Team. How has this transition been for you?
It’s been great actually, the bike, the team, just everyone involved has been really good. After being on Yamaha for so long I was a little nervous about making the switch to Kawasaki, but right from the first ride on the new bike, I was comfortable. The KX250F feels light and fast and a little easier to throw around, it’s definitely been a great bike for Supercross.
The PR-MX Kawasaki Team is great and I’m glad they decided to sign you and give you a chance. I feel like you’re guys are going to be a real force this summer. So is the plan to ride the entire 250SX East Series and then get ready for the Triple Crown Series?
Yes, right now that’s the plan. We’ll try and find some success in SX and also try and stay healthy. The 250SX East runs into late April so I will most likely start testing for outdoors before SX is over.
You must be really excited to have the Triple Crown Series not only head back out west but also begin in BC?
I’m so excited to be able to race at the Whispering Pines track in Kamloops. I’ve grown up at that track and it’s going to be cool to finally race a pro-national on it. I’ve raced amateur days there before when the national series used to come to Kamloops and the track is always prepared differently. I don’t know what it is but it usually gets a lot rougher when there is a national in town. I cannot wait, it’s going to be a great weekend.
Well Julien, I think I speak for all Canadians when I say good luck this weekend in Minneapolis. It’s going to be great to have some talented Canadian riders to cheer for in the 250SX East Series. Thank you for taking the time to chat and safe travels up to Minneapolis.
Thank you Palms! I appreciate you calling and hopefully I can go this weekend, ride safe, and have some fun. I’m pretty excited to head up there and race in my first SX.
