Image: Supplied.

Victory at Balclutha’s second round of the 2024 New Zealand Motocross Championship (NZMX) as allowed Jed Beaton to inch closer to the MX1 red plate, his first overall win since April 2023 marking a timely confidence boost.

The former MXGP regular transferred from Honda Racing to CDR Yamaha Monster Energy for the 2024 ProMX season alongside reigning champion Dean Ferris, and is currently in the middle of a New Zealand pre-season stint filling in for Maximus Purvis at Altherm JCR Yamaha.

Despite a promising start in 2023, the 26-year-old’s campaign failed to yield any more overall victories following his round three triumph at Wodonga’s ProMX in April, prompting a 10-month dry spell for the Tasmanian native.

Beaton, who also sat out last year’s Australian Supercross Championship, has been ever-consistent in his pre-season push across the Tasman, finishing second at the Woodville GP and third at the NZMX opener earlier this month.

Overcoming a brake failure in race two, the Yamaha rider’s 1-2-1 results at Balclutha on the weekend have moved him to just eight points of series leader Hamish Harwood (CML KTM Racing).

“Once I got into the lead, I could relax a little bit and ride my own race,” Beaton recalled. “It felt really good to be out in front again leading some laps. It gave me the overall for the weekend, which I haven’t had for some time now, so it was good for the confidence.”

Fellow Australian Caleb Ward also experienced a positive weekend on the South Island, finishing second overall in the MX2 category with a 5-2-1 scorecard. The Queenslander sits third in the standings, just seven points out from the lead.

The New Zealand Motocross Championship now heads to Pukekohe on 23 March for the penultimate round, while Beaton will return to Australia to kick off his ProMX title bid on 17 March at Wonthaggi in Victoria.