Husqvarna Factory Racing's Jed Beaton narrowly missed out on a podium result at the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship with a fourth-place finish at Matterley Basin.
The MX2 rider delivered a stand-out performance in the day’s opening 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,” said Beaton.
“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.”
Results MX2 Great Britain 2020
1. Jago Geerts (BEL), Yamaha (1-4)
2. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (6-1)
3. Mikkel Haarup (DEN) Kawasaki (3-3)
4. Jed Beaton (AUS), Husqvarna (2-6)
5. Rene Hofer (AUT), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (8-2)
Standings MX2 2020 after 01 of 20 rounds
1. Jago Geerts 43
2. Tom Vialle 40
3. Mikkel Haarup 40
4. Jed Beaton 37
5. Rene Hofer 35
Photo: Haggis Hartman