Image: Supplied.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jed Beaton made his racing return in brutal conditions at the Hawkstone International on the weekend, marking his first competitive outing since July last year.

The Australian, who’s coming off an injury-riddled 2019 campaign, performed strongly at the British event that was marred by heavy rain, pushing through to record a 7-2 scorecard for fourth overall.

Despite the muddy conditions, Beaton was thrilled to be back behind the gates as he prepares for the 2020 MX2 World Championship.

“Today was my first race in quite a while, so I was easing myself back into it,” Beaton explained. “I got off to a really bad start in race one and with the heavy rain it was a tough opening few laps.

“I managed to get into a rhythm and started moving forward. It was raining the whole time so it was a bit of a miserable moto, but it was good to be racing again. The second moto was much better. I got off to a much better start and managed to avoid some chaos in the second turn.

“That put me into fifth position and then I made a few passes and moved into second. By the time I got there, the leader had checked out. It was great to be in second and ride my own race, which I held to the flag.”

The opening round of the MX2 World Championship is scheduled for 1 March at Matterley Basin in Great Britain.