Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

he 2014 MX2 Championship winning Serco Yamaha team are set and ready to go for the opening round of the 2015 MX Nationals, roaring to life this weekend at Horsham in Victoria.

Returning champ, Luke Clout and new recruit, Jed Beaton, are locked and loaded after the final shakedown of their race YZ250F’s last week and are both looking to get the season off to a good start at the Horsham circuit.

Clout comes into the championship after a two month stint riding and training in the USA. Clout left Australia at Christmas and spent two months trying to improve his speed and technique at the Millsap’s training facility in the US.

He returned to Australia a couple of weeks ago to test and develop his bike and now feels he is in a good position to defend his championship.

“It was a bit of a dream coming true to win the MX2 championship last year but I knew I had to be faster and fitter if I wanted to defend the championship in 2015 so that’s why I went over to the US. To be able to ride and train every day with faster riders on well- maintained tracks makes for perfect preparation and combined with the development in our race bikes, I feel I’m better placed than what I was entering the 2014 season.

“It’s not going to be easy to win this championship and plenty of the younger guys have upped the pace but with the experience I gained from last year I hope that I’m a better, smarter and faster rider and that will be the ingredients to success this year,” Clout said.

Jed Beaton had a break out season in 2014, barnstorming into professional motocross at the tender age of 16 and instantly showing the speed and maturity of a seasoned veteran. Beaton was on track to win the MXD class before a leg injury took him out of the championship but he has used is time wisely since recovering and has put in the hard yards over the off season.

“It was a huge honour to sign on with Serco Yamaha as they have been the team to be in the MX2 class for years and I know I have the best bike and team around me. I have been hard at it since I have been able to ride and train again and have had a really good off season of training and riding.

“This is a long championship, with 20 races to be ran over five months so it’s important to be consistent every moto and keep racking up points so that’s the goal for the opening few rounds. The last time I raced at Horsham, I won an Australian Junior Championship, so it would be nice to keep that rolling this weekend,” Beaton ends.

The Serco Yamaha team will be at Wimmera Motorcycles with the CDR and GYTR Yamaha teams for a poster signing and autograph session at 12.30 -1.30pm this Saturday.