It was announced today that off-road racer Jesse Groemm and Beta USA have officially parted ways, effective, June 1. A few hours later, it was announced that Groemme has signed a new deal with Solid Performance KTM and will finish out the 2016 GNCC and National Enduro Series on orange. According to a release from Beta, Groemme was nearing the end of his two-year agreement with the team and “was about to be re-signed to the team; however, abrupt circumstances beyond the team’s control forced the termination.”
Beta USA President Tim Pilg explains, “It is very unfortunate to end our relationship with Jesse, as we feel he is a very talented rider; however, things were just not in the cards to continue with him. We will look forward to building our team as we planned in the beginning, to have a top-level race program with athletes who can bring the best out in themselves and Beta. We are very happy with teammate Tegan Temple and will look for another racer to fill Jesse’s position in the near future.”
“I thank Beta USA for their support thus far in my career and this season,” said Groemm through a release from the SP KTM Team. “But in the end I’ve been missing having fun racing recently. Being back on a KTM feels like coming home again. I’m happy and excited to have a lot my sponsors still on board for the remainder of the season, the whole crew at Solid Performance KTM for stepping up to build me a competitive KTM 250XC machine on short notice, and my mechanic Jeff Pasqua for his continued support. I’m really excited to get back on a KTM and run up front with the XC2 guys this weekend and beyond.”
The SP release went on to say that SP KTM principal and tuner Evan Yarnall, along with Goemm’s current mechanic Jeff Pasqua will be collaborating to build, tune and provide race support for the remainder of th,e season. “My heart has always been at the races,” said Yarnall. “Through my time with Mike Lafferty at KTM and as a privateer tuner with Shane Hufford in XC2, Enduro and GNCC racing is something I’ve always been very passionate about. When I found out Jesse needed help moving forward, building a program for him was the very least I could do. We all know how competitive the KTM 250XC is. Add in Jesse’s talent & desire to win, and I have no doubt that success will soon follow.”
