Image: Jeff Crow.

MX Nationals MXD title candidates Jed Beaton and Nathan Crawford have pledged to move past an intriguing on-track rivalry that broke out during the Raymond Terrace round on Sunday.

Beaton was under the impression that Crawford held him up during his qualifying lap at MX Central, which ultimately led to a bold brake-check pass by Beaton on Crawford in moto three.

With the MXD title fight the tightest of all in the nationals, red plate holder Beaton has downplayed the incident and said his primary focus is on the championship rather than escalating the Crawford rivalry.

“I was coming around on my hot lap and on the second last corner he basically stopped in front of me and messed my whole lap up,” Beaton told MotoOnline. “It made me a bit angry, but I’m just going to move on and it doesn’t bother me at all. I’m focusing on winning races and doing the best I can.”

Crawford, who was an integral part of the Yamaha development program right until switching to Husqvarna for his maiden MXD campaign, also insists he wasn’t fazed by the tactics that took place at Raymond Terrace.

“I didn’t know it was him behind me; the chequered flag was out and I was rolling around,” Crawford explained. “He went over the finish line and threw his hands in the air, then in the first race when he passed me he sort of put it on me – rode into my line.

“From there we just kept doing it when we were around eachother, but it doesn’t really bother me. It was a racing incident I guess and it doesn’t faze me that much. I just want to focus on what I do and that’s to win races.”

In the round swept by factory Husqvarna rider Egan Mastin, Crawford eventually finished second overall while Beaton completed the podium in third. Beaton’s now eight points ahead of Mastin in the standings, as Crawford sits third a further 15 points in arrears.