Image: Henry Jaine.

New CDR Yamaha Monster Energy signing Jed Beaton will open his 2024 campaign in New Zealand after being drafted into the Josh Coppins-led Altherm JCR Yamaha team.

Beaton will acclimatise himself with the YZ450F under race conditions in the Woodville Grand Prix and four-round NZ national championship, which will overlap with the Penrite ProMX Championship.

JCR has been affected by injuries in the current pre-season, including last year’s NZ MX1 champion Maximus Purvis, who former MXGP regular Beaton will effectively be replacing this year.

“That is part of the sport and we need to do the best that we can in terms of our riders’ recovery,” Coppins explained. “We have managed that process and we are thankful for the relationship with CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team and Yamaha Motor Australia, as they’ve done a colab deal with Yamaha Motor New Zealand and Altherm JCR Yamaha, so we are able to make use of Jed as a replacement rider.

“We had to look internationally for cover over this current season and we are grateful that our Yamaha counterparts could help. We last had an Australian rider come over in 2020 when Kirk Gibbs rode for us and won the MX1 championship for our Altherm JCR team.”

“Jed comes from the MXGP circuit and has great credentials. He has raced in New Zealand before and knows half the tracks he’s going to be competing on. Having only just started with CDR, he is excited to get going with Yamaha. We are hoping to help progress him into the Yamaha family and improve his skills, so he is up and running for when the Australian Motocross Championship starts in mid-March.

“We can’t thank CDR enough for helping us out in these difficult times – having Jed means we have a strong contender for the MX1 title this summer.”

Beaton’s teammate will be James Scott, who is in his second season with Altherm JCR Yamaha in MX2. Woodville is set for 27-28 January, before the 2024 nationals commence at Rotorua on 3 February.