Heading into the 2009 motocross season, Ross Beaton was considered one of the favourites in the highly competitive U/19s class.
After showing some great speed in the first three Rounds, the rider hailing from Tasmania broke through for a race win in Moto one at Mackay. Unfortunately for Ross a long running shoulder injury would see him pull out early in moto two on the same day.
This would not deter the Yamaha junior development team member though and he would come out at round 5 at Murray Bridge and go 2-1 and take the days overall win. I managed to catch up with Ross just after riders sign in at Wanneroo for round 6 of the Australian motocross titles for a quick Chat.
Insider: Congratulations on last weekend your first ever round win, how was it to finally win a round of the U/19s Championship?
Ross Beaton: Yeah it was good to finally get one, I have been waiting for quite a while, I knew I could do it the whole time it was just a matter of getting that perfect preparation for the weekend. I know what it takes now to get things set up for a weekend so I am feeling a lot better.
Insider: At the previous round at Mackay you took your first moto win, so this is pretty much the next step.
Ross Beaton: Mackay was good, I quite enjoy that track, Its nice fast and flowing and the last three rounds have been more motocrossy, just really good tracks and I have been riding really well at all of them. It really was great to get my first win at Mackay but it was unfortunately short lived early in the second moto I went down and hurt my shoulder which put me out for a week. It was good overall though, It gave me the confidence and made me realise I had the speed to win.
Insider: So what exactly was the injury you sustained at Mackay?
Ross Beaton: What happened is in my left shoulder I tend to get sore in the bursa really easily, which is a sack of fluid located between the muscles and when I hit it hard I get frozen shoulder so I can't move it at all, but if I take the right precautions and ice it pretty quick I can tend to get on top of things with in four days.
Insider: With a short no break going into round 5 did the injury have an effect on your preparations for Murray Bridge?
Ross Beaton: Only a little, it gave me the chance to have the week off and recover from the racing. After the weeks rest Gibbsy came down to stay with me which really helped my speed quite a bit for Murray Bridge.
Insider: Is the injury something you will be looking at getting fixed at the end of the year or is it something you will just have to try and manage?
Ross Beaton: I don't think it is one of those things that can't be fixed up, It's one of those things that will get better with time, the more strength I can get into the shoulder the less it will happen, It is an injury a lot of cricketer have with over use when bowling, so the more rest it gets the better it will get, so that is pretty much where we are at with it at the moment. I'll just have to keep it on two wheels and not fall on my shoulder.
Insider: I know a lot of guys came over to WA early this week to get some sand riding in did you make take the same path and come over early?
Ross Beaton: Nah nah, I went riding down the end of Boyd's road Wednesday then rode my track on Thursday in preparation for this weekend, I felt pretty flat after last weekend so I didn't over do it this week, just done what was needed to be done, I didn't think I would gain any pace and at the same time didn't think I would lose any pace. I just done what I thought I needed to do, I done a little bit of riding in the sand and got comfortable with how you have to ride that so we are here now and will do what he have to do.
Insider: Moving onto this weekend, have you been out to have a look around the track?
Ross Beaton: I have not been out to look around the whole track, I have been over to suss out the start gates, as my biggest down fall is my starts pretty much, I tend to make hard work for myself all the time.
The track looks good .I had good pace here last year I just had a little bit of bad luck in the first turn, I have nutted a few things out. I have done a lot of sand riding between last year and this year and I feel that I have got a lot faster since last year. I am looking forward to tomorrow, I'm a big strong lad for my class which should help on the rough track and I feel if I can put things together like last weekend i will be in with a shot.
Insider: Well mate, I know you are a busy man and will want to go get some rest for tomorrow, thanks for your time and the best of luck for tomorrow.
Ross Beaton: Thanks Aaryn and ill catch you tomorrow.
As you would probably know by now Ross had a good consistent day at Wanneroo that seen him again make the podium finishing third on the day. Starts were again his down fall but Beaton rode strong and stayed upright which was key on a day that seen a lot of riders go down and struggle with the very rough track.
On the podium Ross thanked his Yamaha Junior racing development team, the CDR team for the help and development of the bikes engine, his mechanic Tommo, Mick from Fox and all the other sponsors associated with the team.
