Few expected to see Penrite ProMX MX1 contender Jed Beaton on the starting list for round eight of the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Washougal. After flying to America to do some testing and training, the Boost Mobile Honda Racing rider – with the assistance of Team Honda HRC – made the last-minute decision to line up on Saturday. MotoOnline caught up with the 25-year-old for a Conversation about his weekend and how it came about.

Jed, a disappointing way to finish your weekend in Washougal, but how was the experience?

It was quite good, I mean a good experience, it was difficult to get used to the track in a short amount of time, but every time I went on the track I felt a bit better. Struggled in the first one, got a bit of arm-pump and, honestly, I struggled a little bit with the heat to be fair – it’s almost 33 degrees here and I’ve come from 10 to 12 degrees back home. So, it’s a big shock to the system, but it was cool. I’m glad I’ve done it, glad I’ve come here. I’ve met a lot of people and had a good time. It’s a shame I couldn’t ride the way I wanted to ride, but hey, that’s riding motocross isn’t it?

What were the major takeaways from the weekend? Obviously, the qualifying and race format is a little different here compared to home and GPs.

I enjoyed the qualifying part of it, just to see what it’s like, do something different. They obviously have the two 15-minute sessions here, then go straight into the motos. It was cool to see how it all runs and see what it is all about. The qualifying was probably a little bit better for me, obviously doing the one lap and pushing the bike to the limit and seeing what it is like over here. You can’t go too much on what it is like over here compared to home though, because the tracks are a lot faster, the hills here are a lot gnarlier… Back home, we don’t get that so much.

What happened in moto two? Was it something to do with the throttle?

The throttle cable popped off in between the tube and the housing, it just got jammed and I couldn’t even release the throttle.

The integration of you with Team Honda HRC this weekend, was it was a surprise how welcoming and involved they were with you even off to the side of the transporter?

Yeah, 100 percent. Everyone on the team here has been really cool. As you said, they’ve been really welcoming. Three days ago I didn’t even expect to be here racing. These guys have come over every time I’ve gotten off the track and asked how it went, they’ve given me a place to get changed inside the truck. It’s been unreal. I haven’t expected any of that to be honest. All the guys here, even the riders are cool. So, it’s been a really good atmosphere to be around and I’ve really enjoyed my time and the people I’ve met here.

Now that you’ve had that taste, does it give you that desire to do more?

For sure. It’s always good to do races and do different types of races. If the opportunity was there to do more, I would definitely do it. It’s good to come across and see how these guys ride their own tracks and everything like that. You can always learn. Even talking to Darren Lawrence, they’ve always got something to say that can help you learn a lot. So, even on that side of things, it was good to catch up with the Lawrence boys again, I haven’t seen them for many years. So, yeah it’s been unreal.