Misfortune and a weakened shoulder limited Jed Beaton’s overall result in Portugal to 15th, the F&H Kawasaki MXGP rookie remaining confident that he can return to form once he rebuilds strength.

Beaton made two solid starts at Agueda, running inside the top 10 in race one before a collision pushed him down to 21st, ultimately crossing the line 18th.

Race two saw the KX450 rider run as high as sixth in the opening laps before suffering physically as the moto progressed, finishing the race in 13th and left motivated to improve his position.

“I felt pretty good for the first ten to fifteen minutes of both races, but in the first moto I came together with someone and snapped off my clutch lever so I couldn’t do much after that,” Beaton explained.

“In the second moto I was good again for fifteen to twenty minutes but then I got a lot of arm pump in my left arm. That’s from the crash in Mantova, my shoulder doesn’t feel painful but it is still weak and I just don’t have the strength. I don’t want to be in this position but it is how it is, when I get it sorted I’ll be back where I ought to be.”

Beaton made an impressive start to the 2022 MXGP World Championship finishing sixth overall on debut at Matterley Basin. Unfortunately, fortunes changed at Mantova when he injured his shoulder in a first lap qualifying collision, with the effects plaguing the remainder of his season to date.

The next opportunity for Beaton to progress towards the front comes this weekend when the series resumes at Pietramurata, the fifth of 20 rounds in this year’s world championship.