It was a commanding performance from the CDR Yamaha team with Jed Beaton and Aaron Tanti dominating proceedings at Appin with a 1-2 result in a sensational day’s racing.
Jed Beaton is on a roll in 2026 and at the top of his game. The double race win in challenging conditions at Appin over the weekend now means that Beaton has won four of the five rounds contested so far and nine out of the ten motos completed and holds a massive 54-point lead with three rounds remaining.
Beaton put on a clinic over the weekend and navigated a rutted, wet and technical course with ease and finesse. He carried momentum through turns, positioned himself well on the track and when he needed to make moves to get to the front, he did it with precision.
“The track was tough this weekend,” Beaton begins. “The small amount of rain we have just made the ruts a bit longer and deeper and the layout here has off camber turns, so it’s always a technical track to ride.
“I was able to start fairly well today which was important as vision would be an issue, but it was Tanti who the holeshot man over the weekend. Congrats to Aaron, he was riding well and to have us both up here for a team 1-2 is a great result for everyone and something to be proud off.
“We are back in Victoria for round six, so looking forward to that and trying to keep this season rolling along nicely,” Beaton ends.
Aaron Tanti openly states he likes hard pack tracks, and the Appin circuit is certainly that. He also cut his teeth at Appin as a junior rider, so he went into the weekend confident of a good result.
And he achieved exactly that. He started well in both motos and was up front early before Jed Beaton sailed by. But to Tanti’s credit, he didn’t let Beaton go and was able to keep him in sight for long periods during the motos as the duo sped away from the rest of the pack.
Tanti’s 2-2 results gave him second for the day and the points haul saw him move to just one point out of second place in the MX1 championship.
“I’m pretty happy with the weekend and how I was riding,” Tanti explains. “I gave myself every chance of getting a good result as I got good starts and pushed hard early to try and get away.
“But Jed is riding so good at the moment and was able to get around me and get a small gap. I wanted to hang onto him as long as I could and try and learn where he makes his time and what he does, so it was good to see that firsthand.
“It was also good to make up some points on Kyle and now we are just one point apart with three rounds to go. I feel like I’m building again as a rider as I have been able to keep putting laps and races together so hopefully that can continue all the way until the end of the championship.”
