Impressive fourth overall for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing at FIM MX2 World Championship

Jed Beaton has claimed an impressive fourth overall for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing at the fifth round of the FIM MX2 World Championship. Enjoying a highly positive third-place finish in race one, the Australian then backed it up with an eighth in moto two, which rewarded Jed with another well-deserved points haul and moves him up to sixth in the series standings. Jed’s teammate, Kay de Wolf, secured eighth overall in MX2 on his FC 250, while in the MXGP class Arminas Jasikonis’ day was highlighted by a race one 13th. Thomas Kjer Olsen placed 11th in moto two.

Round five of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place at the Loket venue in the Czech Republic. The classic circuit featured rolling hills, technical off-camber corners, and a slick racing surface, which created close racing in every moto.

Continuing on from his podium results at round four, Jed Beaton claimed an impressive fourth overall in the MX2 class at the MXGP of Czech Republic. After starting well inside the top-10 in race one, the Australian made a number of quick passes to move into third by the end of the opening lap. From here, he put in a monumental effort to catch the leading riders, going on to complete the moto just under five seconds behind the eventual winner, Mattia Guadagnini.

For race two, Beaton enjoyed another top-10 start and set about improving upon his moto one performance. Despite his best efforts, the 23-year-old could only advance to eighth by the end of the moto following a race-long battle to maintain his position. Rewarded with fourth overall, the FC 250 rider now moves up one place, to sixth, in the MX2 World Championship standings with the fourth placed rider just seven points ahead.

Following on from his breakthrough ride last weekend, Kay de Wolf arrived in Loket with his confidence high and hungry for more success. His day in the Czech Republic started perfectly with the young Dutchman very nearly claiming the race one holeshot. A few small mistakes demoted him back to fifth, where he remained until the very last lap when series leader Maxime Renaux slipped by. Kay would go on to successfully complete the race in a strong sixth place.

For moto two, rain was falling, which caused Kay to momentarily lose traction when the gate dropped. Having fought his way past a number of his rivals in the first few turns, the 16-year-old completed the opening lap in 12th, before he began working his way up the leaderboard. By race end, de Wolf had moved up to ninth. Paired with his race one result, Kay claimed eighth overall on the day.

In the MXGP class, round five proved to be a frustrating one for Thomas Kjer Olsen and Arminas Jasikonis. With both riders encountering technical issues during the day, Kjer Olsen secured a strong 11th in race two while Jasikonis added more points to his championship tally courtesy of his 13th in moto one.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing will next be in FIM Motocross World Championship action at the MXGP of Flanders-Belgium, round six of the series next weekend on August 1.

Jed Beaton: “It was a bit of a mixed day with my results, which I’m not overly happy with, but to finish fourth overall, I’ll take that with a not so good second moto. In the first race I was able to make a lot of quick passes and moved into third early on and everything came really easy to me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite make the same passes in race two. The track was a bit slick after the rain, so it was hard to push, and it was just a big battle throughout the top-10. It was frustrating trying to make passes while riding defensive but overall, fourth is pretty decent and I’m leaving here healthy ahead of the next one.”

Kay de Wolf: “I really enjoyed my racing today. My results weren’t quite as good as last weekend but I’m ok with this on a hardpack track like we had today. My starts in both races were really good. I nearly took the holeshot in race one but made a few mistakes after that and dropped back a little. I held fifth until the last lap when I got held up behind a backmarker and Maxime Renaux passed me. It was unfortunate, but another lesson learned. In race two I had a little bit of wheelspin off the start and then I had to fight through. I ended up eighth overall so I’m really happy with this and now my focus is on Lommel next weekend.”

Thomas Kjer Olsen: “Today was a bit of a tough day but my 11th in race two gives me a lot of confidence as my start wasn’t great, but I was able to make a lot of passes. It’s shame that I cased a jump in race one and damaged my rear wheel. I was able to manage it for most of the race and I was in the points, but it got to the point where it was too dangerous to continue. Another learning day for sure and this week I’ll focus on my starts, which will make my life a little bit easier if I can be up front with the top guys from the start.”

Arminas Jasikonis: “It was nice to continue with a strong result on the hardpack in race one today. I’m really beginning to feel like my old self and feel comfortable out there on the race track. So, there are plenty of positives to take away from today. For sure the second race was a little disappointing, two crashes, and I hurt my wrist but looking ahead, I feel like the season is just starting for me and we’ll keep improving week by week.”

Download high-res images from the MXGP of Czech Republic here.

Results – 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship, Round 5

MXGP – Overall
1. Jorge Prado (KTM) 45pts; 2. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 40; 3. Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) 38… 16. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Husqvarna) 10; 18. Arminas Jasikonis (Husqvarna) 8

MXGP – Race 1
1. Jorge Prado (KTM) 35:10:919, 19 laps; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:11:448; 3. Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) 35:32:887… 13. Arminas Jasikonis (Husqvarna) 36:13:929

MXGP – Race 2
1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 33:52:869, 18 laps; 2. Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) 33:57:238; 3. Jorge Prado (KTM) 34:00:584… 11. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Husqvarna) 34:36:589

MX2 – Overall
1. Mattia Guadagnini (KTM) 41pts; 2. Maxime Renaux (Yamaha) 38; 3. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 37; 4. Jed Beaton (Husqvarna) 33… 8. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 27

MX2 – Race 1
1. Mattia Guadagnini (KTM) 33:59:915, 18 laps; 2. Tom Vialle (KTM) 34:02:573; 3. Jed Beaton (Husqvarna) 34:04:676… 6. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 34:10:789

MX2 – Race 2
1. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 34:24:942, 18 laps; 2. Maxime Renaux (Yamaha) 34:30:622; 3. Jago Geerts (Yamaha) 34:31:585… 8. Jed Beaton (Husqvarna) 35:03:866; 9. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:11:546

Championship Standings – After Round 5

MXGP
1.Tim Gajser (Honda) 194pts; 2. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 183; 3. Jorge Prado (KTM) 177… 13. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Husqvarna) 72; 23. Arminas Jasikonis (Husqvarna) 31

MX2
1. Maxime Renaux (Yamaha) 179pts; 2. Mattia Guadagnini (KTM) 177; 3. Ruben Fernandez (Honda) 165… 6. Jed Beaton (Husqvarna) 142; 10. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 114

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