Image: Foremost Media.

Australian MX1 contender Jed Beaton is a surprise late addition to the AMA Pro Motocross Championship field at Washougal this weekend, the Boost Mobile Honda Racing team regular putting together a late deal to confirm his 450MX debut.

Beaton, 25, has been in the US training during the extended break in Penrite ProMX – in which he currently sits second overall – and the chance to line-up on Saturday came about from that point.

“I came over here to do a little bit of riding and a couple of days in, the guys said that it’d be a good idea to race,” Beaton told MotoOnline. “They made few phone calls and everyone’s been really welcoming so far. It all happened within one day, so we got in the car yesterday, started driving and did like a 15-hour trip here – I only just arrived.”

Beaton will be equipped with a production-based bike with his suspension from the Honda Racing team, which also runs a US-based Supercross program with the Fire Power Honda Racing team. He was on-track during press day this afternoon, just hours after driving from Southern California up to the Washington venue.

“It’s always been a goal and definitely like a dream to race in America,” he added. “When I was younger I liked riding motocross a lot more, so ended up going to the GPs. Now, they’re in the middle of their motocross season here and I just happened to be here at the right time to fit a race in.

“It’s all come together very fast, I wasn’t really expecting to do it, so I’m just stoked to be here. I’ll go out and give it my best, see what we can do with what we’ve got.”

After returning home from Europe this season following a six-year career in the MXGP series, Beaton is yet to contest an American national. It’s expected this weekend will be a one-off appearance at this point, with the next round of Pro Motocross on the same weekend as QMP’s penultimate ProMX round.

Beaton won’t be the only ProMX rider contesting the Washougal weekend, with multiple New Zealand champion Hamish Harwood also lining up as part of the unique two-stroke challenge competition within the 450MX class this weekend.