MX2 World Championship contender Jed Beaton has managed to secure a top five finish at Sunday’s German grand prix despite suffering a heavy fall with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen in the opening moto.

The pair were battling for position when Kjer Olsen crossed over on Beaton mid-air, ultimately resulting in a crash-landing that relegated them multiple positions.

The Australian charged back to seventh following the incident, while in race two he collected sixth to credit him fifth overall, allowing him to retain his fifth place ranking in the championship.

“My starts were not so great this weekend – I really need to go back home and work on that aspect of my game,” Beaton admitted. “Today my riding was good but I had a crash in the first race with another rider – that dropped me a few positions but I could recover back to seventh, so I was pretty happy with that.

“My lap times were good all through the race, so there’s a lot of positives about that race. I felt good in the second moto too, but I had used a lot of energy in the first race and I started to make a few mistakes towards the end of the race. But I managed to finish fifth overall from a difficult weekend, so I’m pretty happy with that.”

The next stop on MXGP calendar is scheduled for 3 June at Matterley Basin in Great Britain, marking the ninth round of the series.