Image: Postmoto.

Team Australia captain Jed Beaton has quickly switched into ‘supercross mode’ on return home from the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations (MXoN), fresh from leading the Australian team to ninth at the 2026 edition in Ernee, France, at the beginning of the month.

Newly-crowned national MX1 champion Beaton – who spent six seasons in Europe between 2017-2022 – individually claimed sixth in the MXGP category at MXoN, posting an 11-10 combined moto scorecard in his first appearance at the storied international event.

Drawing on his extensive grand prix experience, despite being based in Australia for the past four years, 28-year-old Beaton quickly found comfort in the familiar surrounds of the MXGP paddock and was able to put in a competitive performance alongside countrymen Alex Larwood (MX2) and Aaron Tanti (Open).

“It was a little bit weird going back and racing in Europe again – it sort of felt half normal, I would say,” Beaton told MotoOnline. “It’s just I know everyone there, so it sort of felt nice to be back and see everyone again.

“The actual event itself was super-cool. Obviously my first one, so I just took it all in, and enjoyed it a lot. I felt like I rode well, so I couldn’t really complain about that. It was more just riding with that intensity the whole time – when you’re not racing it every weekend with those guys, the intensity is different.

“I would say that shocked the system most, but I mean, any time that you get selected to represent your country and put the green and gold on and, you know, wear your heart on your sleeve for your country, it’s an unreal opportunity.”

Beaton, 28, has since transitioned into preparing for the Auckland round of the Boost Mobile AUSX Supercross Championship, which will double as round one of the Australian Supercross Championship.

After completing the final three rounds of American Pro Motocross and then representing Australia at the Nations, Beaton has had limited time to prepare for AUSX with Monster Energy CDR Yamaha. He impressed in finishing fourth as an SX1 rookie in 2024, but missed supercross altogether through injury last season.

“I’m pretty much in supercross mode now – I’ve only done like two days since I got back,” he explained. “It’s obviously been a pretty busy schedule, as I went to America for a month and a bit, then came back and went straight to Nations.

“It felt like I just sort of came back home for a week and then went again, so that’s been quite busy, but to be honest, it’s actually been really nice, and I guess refreshing just to be back on some supercross again.

“Just with these last couple of days, I’m starting to get the feeling back. I wouldn’t mind doing a little bit more testing before going racing – we started on the setting that I raced with in ’24, so it didn’t feel too unfamiliar.

“It is a little bit different, obviously, chassis and engine-wise, because the bike’s changed a bit, but the suspension settings pretty much still work as such, and it gives you a base to go off, so that’s always nice.

“My level is a little bit higher, I think, than when I first did it because I’ve obviously had a year under my belt to sort of wrap my head around it and know what to expect. All that sort of stuff was a little bit unknown in my first year, so now I know what to expect. My goal is to just go out and ride to my absolute potential.”