Australian Jed Beaton has stomped through the opening round of the MXGP, finishing fourth overall, narrowly missing the MX2 class podium.
With the first round of the new season proving challenging for all teams and riders due to adverse weather, a revised schedule and a hugely difficult MXGP qualifying race on Saturday was thankfully followed by bright, dry but cold conditions throughout all MXGP and MX2 races on Sunday.
Making a hugely positive start to his 2020 MX2 World Championship campaign, despite being frustrated at ultimately finishing just shy of a final overall podium result, Jed Beaton delivered a stand-out performance in the day’s opening MX2 moto. Completing the opening lap in seventh following a good start, he took a few laps to dial himself into the track before starting to move forwards on lap six.
Initially moving into fifth, just two laps later the young Australian was third and looking increasingly comfortable around the British circuit. Consistently ticking off the laps the FC 250 mounted rider continued to push hard and with four laps to go moved into the runner-up position behind Jago Geerts. Successfully completing the closing laps of the race, he rounded out the first MX2 moto of the year in second.
Race two saw Beaton again show good speed, taking his time to find his rhythm before moving forward two spots and looking to repeat his opening moto performance. With intermittent rain making the track slippery in places, Jed made a small mistake and fell, which dropped him back to eighth. Despite making up two positions to finish the race in sixth, his hopes of a final podium result were ended. Nevertheless, in placing fourth overall, Jed made a strong start to his 2020 campaign, showing impressive speed in both motos.
“It was a good weekend for me. Fourth overall is a great result for the first Grand Prix, although I’m a little disappointed to miss the podium because of a small crash in the second race. In the first moto I had a good start, found some nice lines and came from eighth to second, which was great. I felt good and, yeah, it was good to get that result in the books. Second moto, it took a while to settle into a rhythm and then I just washed the front wheel out in a corner, losing a few places and I finished the race in sixth. For the upcoming rounds I just need to be a little more patient. Overall, it’s been a great day and there are plenty of positives to take into round two next weekend.” – Jed Beaton
Joining teammate Beaton in completing a positive weekend at Matterley Basin, Thomas Kjer Olsen rounded out the GP in seventh overall in the MX2 class. The Dane was unable to ride for more than one month ahead of the British event due to injury, but despite his time off the bike he showed impressive speed in the second moto.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing will next be in action at round two of the FIM Motocross World Championship, for the MXGP of The Netherlands, on March 8.