Jed Beaton continued his early-season form to record a second consecutive fourth-overall at Round 2 of the FIM Motocross World Championship at Valkenswaard circuit in The Netherlands.
Beaton got off to a great start in the opening 250cc race. Running as high as second in the early stages of the moto, the FC 250 mounted rider found himself in a battle for position with championship leader Jago Geerts, with the two riders exchanging places multiple times during the opening laps of the race. Beaton then made a small mistake, running off the side of the heavily-rutted circuit and was relegated down the field. The Tasmanian regrouped and put in a late-race charge to record a sixth-place finish.
Race two was much more fruitful for Beaton. Managing to take avoiding action in turn one when Jago Geerts crashed ahead of him, the 22-year-old then methodically moved his way forwards, staying smooth and light on his FC 250 to progress into second place by the midway stage of the moto. Despite some vision issues, Jed maintained his pace to record his second runner-up moto finish of the season, claiming his second-consecutive fourth-place overall result in as many GPs. Jed now sits third in the MX2 series standings ahead of round three in Argentina, in two weeks’ time.
“It’s been another good GP for me but like at Matterley I’m a little disappointed not to be on the podium,” said Beaton. “But that’s on me as I made a mistake in the first moto.
“Overall, my riding’s good, I just have to keep it on two wheels to get it on the podium. The sand is so soft and heavy here at Valkenswaard that a small mistake can quickly become a big mistake, but it’s been good to show that my speed in the sand is good. I gated really well and felt good in the first race and went from third to second in a couple of corners and started to chase Vialle.
“I then made a small mistake and ran off track slightly, hitting a sign and tipping over. I dropped some places, but I was pleased enough to finish with a decent result. In the second race there was a crash right in front of me, but I still got a decent start. I really focused on not making any mistakes and although it was tough with vision near the end of the race, I got a great second place result, which was a positive way to end the GP.”
Honda 114 Motorsport team rider Nathan Crawford took his Honda’s CRF250R to 12th overall, improving on his first race 17th to finish race two in 11th – one place ahead of his teammate Bailer Malkiewicz.
“It was a tough weekend again. The weather isn’t playing into our favour at the moment and the track was super-gnarly,” said Crawford. “These were definitely the worse condition I’ve ever ridden and it’s obviously a big adjustment for me. At least I go away from the weekend healthy and with no injuries. I had a couple of big crashes this weekend so I was pretty happy to walk away from them.
“Every time I ride my CRF250R I’m learning new things about bike setup and I definitely know where I belong in the race results so I’ll keep working and try again.”
MX2 – Top 10 GP Classification
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 47 points;
2. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 40 p.;
3. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 39 p.;
4. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 37 p.;
5. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 34 p.;
6. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 26 p.;
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 25 p.;
8. Jeremy Sydow (GER, GAS), 20 p.;
9. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 18 p.;
10. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 16 p.
MX2 – Top 10 Championship Classification
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 87 points;
2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 82 p.;
3. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 74 p.;
4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 61 p.;
5. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 53 p.;
6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 52 p.;
7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 51 p.;
8. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 48 p.;
9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 48 p.;
10. Jeremy Sydow (GER, GAS), 35 p.