Image: Supplied.

Australian MX2 contender Jed Beaton has hailed an overall podium at Turkey as the ‘perfect start’ to the second half of his 2021 world championship campaign.

Beaton made a good start in the opening moto slotting into second position before being relegated to third where he eventually finished.

Race two saw the Husqvarna rider narrowly miss the holeshot. On lap five he lost second to Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) but was able to get the upper hand on Mattia Guadagnini (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in a race-long battle for third, making it a 3-3 result and third overall for the round.

“It feels really good to be back on the podium,” Beaton explained. “It had been a bit of an up and down year heading into the break so to get this podium and put together two strong races, it’s the perfect start to the second half of the season.

“I had to really dig deep in that second moto, withstanding pressure for pretty much the whole race, so that one felt really good.

“The team has been amazing as always and this result sets us up really well for Wednesday. My bike was awesome, my starts were perfect and now we can just focus on the motos in a few days’ time and get back up on the box again.”

The result marks Beaton’s second overall podium of 2021 as he looks to stand on the rostrum once again when the MX2 World Championship resumes this week on 8 September at Afyonkarahisar, for the second event of the doubleheader at the Turkish circuit.