Image: Foremost Media.

New Australian MX1 champion Jed Beaton has locked in his plans for the final three rounds of the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship, basing himself out of the Lawrences’ facility in Florida and set to be lining up with support from his usual Monster Energy CDR Yamaha team.

Former MXGP full-timer Beaton, 28, will contest the Unadilla, Budds Creek, and Ironman rounds of the US series, piecing together a largely independent program equipped with YZ450Fs on loan from Yamaha Motor USA.

“We had a couple different options at the start that ultimately didn’t eventuate, and it was getting to the point where it was entering the ‘too hard’ basket,” Beaton told MotoOnline. “But Jase [Macalpine] and Hunter [Lawrence] jumped on board and started helping out a fair bit.

“It all got pretty organized after that – and I’ll be heading to the Lawrences’ now and riding there. So I’ll stay there and compete in the final three [races], which are Unadilla, Budds Creek, and Ironman.”

Beaton will convert two production YZ450Fs in America to CDR specification, fitted with his kit suspension and key engine components to closely replicate his championship-winning race bike in Australia.

“I’ve got two standard bikes over there and I’m just taking my stuff from here,” he added. “We sent suspension two weeks ago, and that’s already arrived, so everything else engine-wise, we’ll take with us in a suitcase and sort of build up a bike that’s similar to what I have in Australia.”

The experienced Tasmanian said that the opportunity to race in the United States was one he intends to approach with full commitment this time around, entering with form on his side. A previous appearance came at Washougal in 2023, where he went 13-DNF for 17th overall.

“I’m in decent form currently, and may as well go and do it while I have an opportunity,” Beaton continued. “I’ve always wanted to go and do it and do it properly. The last time I went over I wasn’t really organized to go over there and race – it just came out of the blue.

“I’d like to go over there and do it properly on decent equipment, because otherwise it may be one of those things that’s always put on the back burner. Expectation-wise, I’d like to think I could be inside the top-10, but you never know until the gates drop.”

Following his AMA cameo this month, Beaton is all but confirmed to be leading Team Australia into the 2026 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations at Ernee, France, between October 2-4. He hasn’t been announced as a wildcard for the MXGP of Australia, which is set for September 19-20 in Darwin.