Entering Monster Energy Supercross for the first time in the brand’s history, Triumph Racing saw their rider Jalek Swoll finish seventh in the 250SX East Regional Championship. With the element of unknown coming into the season, it was an overall strong debut season for Triumph on American soil that has set them up well moving forward.

Swoll’s final performance on Supercross in 2024 delivered a P9 result in the Dave Coombs Sr. 250SX East/West Showdown. Swoll was the fourth highest finishing 250SX East rider on the night which pushed him closer to a top five overall result on the season, but he ended up falling just short.

“The big picture was to finish the year strong and healthy, and we go into the outdoor season feeling 100%,” said Swoll. “We missed out on some bigger points scoring finishes this season, but it’s been a good first year with the team and the Triumph TF 250-X.”

Image: Octopi Media.

There were certainly plenty of question marks entering the season on just how Triumph would perform. It’s rare that a new motorcycle manufacturer enters Supercross, but it’s even rarer when that manufacturer had done almost no racing with a dirt bike at all prior.

The only racing the bike had even done before Swoll went racing at the Detroit Supercross in early February was just offseason races completed by the factory team in Europe as riders Camden McLellan and Mikkel Haarup prepared for the kickoff of their MX2 World Motocross Championship. Having such limited experience with the machine in race trim at all, Triumph Racing felt they ticked off plenty of boxes already in 2024.

“Our aim for the Supercross season was top five, and we were just nine points away from that,” said Triumph Racing team principal Bobby Hewitt. “It was Jalek’s best year in the series and we’ve shown the world we’ve got a good bike, a good team and good program. We now go into the outdoor season leading the way as we’re tied on points with everyone!”

Image: Octopi Media.

Swoll and the team will lament some missed opportunities as he battled for podium results on many occasions this year. But for an untested bike on Supercross, Swoll proved it to be plenty competitive. He even had to deal with some fractures in his back following a crash in Arlington and still continuously found himself battling at the sharp end of the field.

The team even had to deal with the mutual departure of their second rider Evan Ferry who was only able to compete in one race for the team. While dealing with that situation along with an injury for their test rider Ivan Tedesco, it certainly wasn’t easy for the new program. Regardless, they still never suffered a mechanical issue that pulled them out of a main event and Swoll even told MotoOnline earlier this year that he’s been happy with the progress of the bike in a short span.

“What an amazing first season for our Supercross team!” said Triumph’s head of off-road programs Ian Kimber. “They have done an incredible job of showing what the Triumph TF 250-X can do against the world’s best competition. Jalek adapted to the bike very quickly and showed some incredible speed and determination to get us close to a position where we’re fighting for podiums, not to mention so many strong starts out of the gate with a number of holeshots.”

Image: Octopi Media.

Now the team gets to turn their attention to AMA Pro Motocross where they already have some footwork laid as their MX2 team has six rounds of their season already done. On top of that, they also have Joey Savatgy finally able to debut for the team as Savatgy was ineligible to race 250SX for them having pointed out of the class.

Savatgy and Swoll could make a bit of an underrated powerhouse team rolling into AMA Pro Motocross where both riders come in with race winning experience on their resume. For now, the team can look back and be satisfied with the foundation they have laid knowing a lot of the hard work is already done.