Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

The collateral damage from the crash fest at round four of the MX National at Murray Bridge surfaced at Coolum for the Serco Yamaha team as both Luke Clout and Jed Beaton entered round five at Coolum carrying injures and battling to stay in the championship hunt.

Championship leader, Luke Clout, has a thumb wrist injury that is schedule for surgery this week while Beaton had his broken collarbone plated just 10 days ago saw both riders roll up to the start line at Coolum looking to salvage points.

Despite the pain, moto one saw Luke Clout put in one of his best performances as he picked his way through the field after starting outside the top five. He picked off riders one at a time and moved into second place at the midway point, a position that he held until the completion of the race.

Moto two and Clout was again in contention but he then miscued some of the big sand whoops that had formed during the day and jarred his thumb and wrist. He continued to circulate but the obvious pain had Clout barely able to grip his Serco Yamaha and dropped through the field to eventually finish 20th. He rounded out the day in 10th place but cling to a slender five point lead in the championship.

“The first moto went well and I was pretty happy with second place as I was able to beat all the other guys close to me in the championship points. “Moto two wasn’t good and I gave my thumb a good hit in the early laps and every bump I hit after that was like a shock going up my arm. I just tried to keep circulating around and get as many points as I could.

“I’m booked in to have some surgery tomorrow and should be back on the bike within a month. That should give me another time for it to heal and then get some riding in before round six at Raymond Terrace,” Clout ends.

10 days ago, Jed Beaton had a metal plate inserted in his collarbone to keep his championship hopes alive. Of all the tracks on the MX nationals circuit a rider needs full strength, it would be the deep, whooped-out, black loam of Coolum but Beaton was ready to face the challenge and give it his all.

After a poor start in moto one, Beaton began to find his flow and started moving forward. He closed the gap to the lead group and then made his way into fifth place by race end, just inches away from taking fourth. But the 30 minute race on an already rough circuit took its toll on the Beaton body and he was physically stressed after race one and hoping to recover enough for race two.

He fronted the start line for race two and jagged a top five start but even on lap one, Beaton was in damage control and fighting to keep the pace up. He lost some positions but never gave up and finished ninth, giving him sixth overall in a very gritty and determined performance.

“I’m pretty sore now,” Beaton said after the final moto. “The pain isn’t in my collarbone, it’s in my back and shoulder where every time I had to wheelie a bump it felt like my shoulder was about to pop out.

“It wasn’t a fun way to race and it’s not where I belong but I still in the championship and only 30 odd points behind. We also have a break now so it gives me time to get back to full fitness and come back in the second half swinging.”

“Both guys had to work for their results today,” said team owner Gavin Eales. “Injuries are a part of what we do and every rider has to deal with it at some stage. Jed showed real heart in his racing and after each race he wasn’t in a good way so he really gutted it out. Luke needs to get his thumb done and then we can get him back to full speed. “Let’s hope we have both of them back to full strength at round six.”

A full list of results and further information can be found at www.mxnationals.com.au. To follow the Serco Yamaha team on social media; www.facebook.sercoyamaha or @sercoyamaha