Qualifying quickest and enduring a tough second moto in Latvia left Jed Beaton ‘hoping for more’ when he finished eighth overall for the round.

Beaton is in search of results to land a top-level MXGP ride for 2022 when he ages out of MX2 and admitted his frustration following Kegums.

The 23-year-old used first gate pick to his advantage in the opening race, making a good start from the inside gate to slot into second position. He was eventually relegated to fourth, where he finished the race just 0.844s from Jago Geerts.

Beaton came into the second moto optimistic, however, was caught up with a fallen bike on the opening lap, which caused him to crash. He remounted before another fall while charging through the field meant 13th was the best the Australian manage.

“I was certainly hoping for more today, especially after race one,” Beaton explained. “In the second one someone had crashed in front of me and I had nowhere to go, so I hit their bike and went down. I was coming through pretty good and then I crashed again.

“It’s frustrating as I’ve been building momentum during the last few weeks, so it’s a little disappointing. I’m looking forward to Turkey and two rounds there on the hard-pack, so that should be a good trip.”

The GP of Latvia marks the first time the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider has finished outside the top five overall since round three in Italy, although P8 overall was enough to elevate him to sixth in the championship leading into Afyonkarahisar on 5 September.