Ben Watson crashes hard going flat-out at Matterley Basin
By Team TMX on 27th Feb 22
MXGP Matterley Basin Ben Watson Jed Beaton
Ben Watson suffered a challenging day at Matterley Basin that left the British rider banged up following a crash while wide open during Warm-up on Sunday.
After a nervous Qualifying on Saturday, Kawasaki Racing's Watson had already shown a controlled temperament during morning Warm-Up as he posted ninth-fastest time but a heavy crash on the final lap of the session left him shaken for the remainder of the day.
The Brit found good traction out of the gate in the opening MXGP race but was inevitably pushed a little wide at turn one. He soon made 14th his own and showed top-six pace for the remainder of the race to move forward decisively, taking over 11th two laps from the close to miss the top-10 by just one second. The effects of his morning crash were still evident in race two but he eventually moved forward from 19th to 13th in a damage-limitation ride.
Ben Watson: "Its been a tough weekend to say the least. Yesterday I just didnt have the feeling but we sat down together on Saturday evening, put it behind us, went back to basics and were ready to go again today.
"I felt a lot better in Warm-up but on the last lap, I had a big crash. I dont really know what happened; one minute I was going down the start straight flat-out and the next moment I was on my knees and had banged my head hard. I cut my chin and our team physio helped me a lot but I still had a really bad headache for the rest of the day.
"We werent sure at first if I would be able to start but I did a few practice starts on the test track and decided to try. I had nothing to lose and could pull in if I felt too bad.
"My starts were good but it was tough from my gate position in the end, I finished 11th and 13th. Its not what I expect and not the way we wanted to start the season, but I need to take this opportunity with both hands and we will be back on the pace at Mantova next week."
The Matterley Basin circuit was in prime condition as Australian Jed Beaton rounded the first turn seventh in race one and within 10 minutes he had advanced smoothly into the top six.
With 10 minutes remaining he had bridged the gap to the rider ahead of him to move into fifth, a superb performance on his debut in the premier MXGP class.
He was again impressive in race two, quickly making a couple of significant passes to already move into the top six again on the opening lap. Concentrating on riding consistently as the low late-afternoon sun cast dramatic shadows over the deeply-rutted terrain he surrendered one position mid-moto but his sixth place in the overall GP classification was never in danger.
Jed Beaton: "Obviously Im pretty happy with my day. I didnt know what to expect coming here so its been pretty crazy to finish sixth first-time in MXGP. I think everyone always likes riding this track and I felt relaxed all day, got two good starts, rode my own race each time and tried to stay solid for fifth and seventh.
"For me I actually feel a lot more comfortable on the 450 and am really enjoying riding it; its more to handle but Im a big guy and the little bit more power is good for me."
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