Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

While Luke Clout wasn’t able to retain his number 1 plate in this years’ MX Nationals in the MX2 division, it still proved to be a fruitful year for the Serco Yamaha team with Clout finishing second and young gun Jed Beaton slotting into fourth in the final championship standings.

The 10th and final round of the championship concluded on Sunday on the rough, rugged and always challenging Coolum Pines circuit and true to form, the Serco duo provided plenty of action on track.

Clout entered the final round 21 points behind series leader, Jay Wilson, and was out to finish the championship strongly. He laid out his intentions in qualifying by taking the fastest lap and ready to take that momentum into the first moto.

After an early race battle with Wilson, Clout crossed the line in second place in another good performance. Moto two was also shaping up well for Clout until he fell heavily and dropped back to 13th place as he nursed his battered body and bike home. His 2-13 results gave him fifth overall for the round.

“It wasn’t the best way to finish the championship,” Clout states. “Coming into the final round 21 points behind meant a lot of things had to go my way and it was unlikely I would win the championship but I wanted to win the final round. It just wasn’t meant to be.

“Congratulations to Jay on a great year. We battled all season and it was good racing him. Thanks to my Serco Yamaha team and Rab for hanging off the pit board. I can now change focus and we can get started on supercross and go after another championship,” Clout ends.

Jed Beaton was able to finish the season well taking a third place at the final round of the championship. After a mid-season injury, Beaton has slowly been getting back up to speed and the final round podium was another step in that direction. He finished the day with 5-3 results and his fourth overall in his first year in the MX2 class is an impressive result for the 17 year old Victorian.

“It’s been too long between podiums,” said a relieved Beaton. “The last couple of weeks, I feel like I have been riding better lately, so it was good to get a podium. I have learnt a lot this year and gained valuable experience that will only benefit my racing.

“I made some mistakes this year, learnt the importance of consistency and think that with another pre-season of riding and training that I will be in a good position to go after the championship next season. Working with the Serco Yamaha team has been awesome, so thank you to them and all our team sponsors.”

With the Australia Supercross Championship starting on October 11, Serco Yamaha are well underway with their preparations to attack that championship. To follow the Serco Yamaha team on social media; www.facebook.com/sercoayamaha or @sercomotorsport