Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jed Beaton has secured his best result of the 2020 season to date with a strong third place overall MX2 class finish at round eight of the FIM Motocross World Championship. Putting a number of frustrating GPs behind him, the Australian scored a fourth-place finish in the opening moto at the MXGP of Emilia Romagna before backing it up with an impressive third in moto two. Beaton’s MX2 class teammate Thomas Kjer Olsen continued his return to form with a solid fourth place overall MX2 result, while in MXGP Arminas Jasikonis started the day as fastest qualifier before finishing race one in a strong sixth. A crash and 13th place result in race two gave the Lithuanian 10th overall.
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It was a positive start to the MXGP of Emilia Romagna for Jed Beaton, who was finally able to avoid the opening-moto demons that have repeatedly plagued him during 2020 to secure a fighting fourth-place finish in race one. Successfully staying away from the opening lap chaos, a charge through the field after a top-10 start saw him reach fourth place on lap 11. Closing in on teammate Thomas Kjer Olsen as the race wound down, Jed was unable to find a way through and finished fourth.
Beaton then bettered his race one result with a strong third-place finish in race two, confirming his place on the overall podium. After getting pinched off in the opening corner, a determined push from 12th to fourth during the first half of the opening lap put him in a good position for a solid race finish. Moving into third early in the moto, Jed rode a smart race to clinch his maiden overall podium result of 2020 on his FC 250, his first top-three since 2018.
Clearly comfortable on the hardpack Faenza circuit, Thomas Kjer Olsen continued his return to form by claiming third in the opening moto. A great start saw him challenge for second early in the race, before settling into third and going on to enjoy a mostly untroubled moto while maintaining a strong pace. In an exciting end to race one, TKO again challenged for second place but came up agonisingly short, crossing the line in a close third position.
Race two was another strong moto for Kjer Olsen. Clearly recovered from his recent injury, the Dane rode a little too cautiously in the early stages of the moto before racing to a sixth-place finish and claiming a solid fourth overall. Another impressive overall result elevates him up to seventh place in the MX2 World Championship.
Arminas Jasikonis began the MXGP of Emilia Romagna having laid down solid foundations for a positive day’s racing. Qualifying fastest, he then placed sixth in the opening moto, his best race result from the trio of GPs held at the Faenza circuit. Frustratingly, race two wasn’t quite so prosperous. A crash on lap four relegated AJ from the top 10 down to 21st. A strong ride through the field saw him claim 13th for 10th overall.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing return to FIM Motocross World Championship competition on September 27 for the MXGP of Lombardia, taking place at the sandy Mantova circuit in northern Italy.
Jed Beaton:“It feels great. It’s been a long time coming and it’s great to finally get the monkey off my back and have a great first moto. My starts weren’t the best today but I made it work, especially in the second moto. I’m really happy to finally get onto the podium this season for myself and the team. It’s extra special because it’s my first podium result for Husqvarna. I’ve had a few second-place finishes, but the first moto has let me down so it’s great to turn it around and get on the podium with two good results. My riding was good today. My bike was great so thanks to the team and we’ll build on this ahead of Mantova.”
Thomas Kjer Olsen:“Another good day in Italy. The plan for these races in Faenza was to podium at least one race, which we did on Wednesday and then another today in the first race, so it’s been a good week for me. It feels great to get another strong overall result. First moto I felt really good and comfortable on my bike. I challenged Vialle for second place and then Jed was right on me at the finish. Race two was tricky. It was slick from the track watering and I think I rode a little too cautiously. I wasn’t aggressive enough early in the race, but I pulled through to sixth and that gave me fourth overall, so I’m really happy with that and we’re consistently up front so everything’s good now.”
Arminas Jasikonis:“Today started great with my third pole position and then sixth in the first race. I felt great on my bike and was able to set the fastest time in qualifying, so my speed was there. Race two was going ok until I crashed. It was only a small one but my bike was up on top of a berm so it took a little longer than I’d have liked to get going again. I charged again and picked some riders off so it wasn’t great, but not a complete disaster. We’re all so close in speed in MXGP and every point counts so we’ll regroup and look forward to Mantova.”
