Running in 15th place in the championship standings the British rider continues to work hard and at Maggiora last weekend, he claimed 14th overall. Not what he would like, but at least better than his 18th place in Turkey two weeks earlier.

“After the difficulties I encountered in Turkey,” Watson said. “I am happy because in Maggiora I returned to having good speed. On Saturday the track conditions were quite prohibitive but in qualifying I managed to drive well, finishing twelfth. On Sunday the track was drier but there were few clean lines, and it was really difficult to overtake. In race one I finished thirteenth despite a small problem. An off-track excursion in the first laps forced me to make a comeback in the second and I finished sixteenth. I have always ridden well but until I improve my performance at the start it will be difficult to obtain better results. I will try to prepare as best I can to do well in my home GP next weekend.”

What has been a highlight is the top ten performances by Watson. Those came in the deep sand of Lommel and the deep sand of Arnhem. Arnhem was until now the closest we have seen to the real Ben Watson, who often run up front in the MX2 class.

“The 10th place I achieved at Arnhem was definitely a positive result. On Saturday the feeling was good, and I had good speed in qualifying. Unfortunately, a crash made me lose a few positions. On Sunday I felt that I could do well despite starting from a rather low position at the starting gate. In the first heat I started in the middle of the group and had a good pace and ended up 11th. With another lap to spare I could have done even better. In the second race I had a bad start and on the first lap I also went off the track after a contact with an opponent. When I came back, I was practically last, but my speed was very good, and I was also feeling good in terms of physical condition. I came back and finished 11th, still very close to the riders ahead of me.”

So now onto Matterley Basin, where Watson will try and climb back into the top ten or even higher. Without doubt, he will have the crowd support to make it happened.

BEN WATSON:
“The 10th place I achieved here at Arnhem is definitely a positive result. On Saturday the feeling was good and I had good speed in qualifying. Unfortunately a crash made me lose a few positions. On Sunday I felt that I could do well despite starting from a rather low position at the starting gate. In the first heat I started in the middle of the group and had a good pace and ended up 11th. With another lap to spare I could have done even better. In the second race I had a bad start and on the first lap I also went off the track after a contact with an opponent. When I came back I was practically last, but my speed was very good and I was also feeling good in terms of physical condition. I came back and finished 11th, still very close to the riders ahead of me.”

An excellent performance for Ben Watson (Beta RX450) who, after finishing the qualifying session in nineteenth position, achieved two good results in the two races. The Englishman started in the middle of the group in the first race but managed to make a comeback to finish close to the top ten, eleventh. Ben was then able to take tenth position in the final race, after another excellent comeback. Watson finished ninth overall for the race day and ranks thirteenth in the Championship. 

Alessandro Lupino (Beta RX450) also defended himself well on the demanding Swiss track. Thirteenth in the time trial, the rider from Viterbo started among the first in qualifying and remained in the top ten for a long time. In the final a slight physical drop made him lose a few positions, finishing fifteenth. In the titled races Alessandro was always the author of good starts that allowed him to close the heats in fifteenth and eleventh position. In the standings of the day, he finished thirteenth, Lupino is seventeenth in the MXGP championship.

Next weekend the Beta MRT Racing Team will be busy at Arco in the Grand Prix of Trentino, the fourth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship 2023.

Ben Watson: “In time trials I had a good feeling with the bike but I was not satisfied with my lap times. In the qualifying race I didn’t get a good start and found myself among the last ones. I made up a lot of positions, but with a couple of crashes I couldn’t do better than nineteenth overall. In the titled heats I tried to get good starts, but here too I found myself chasing. In Race 1 I tried my best and finished eleventh. The feeling was good, and I knew that if I could get a better start I could play for a better result. In Race 2 I made a slightly better start and climbed up to tenth position, finishing ninth overall for the day. A good result that motivates me a lot to work to be even more competitive in the next races.” 


Alessandro Lupino: “It was quite a positive weekend for me, even though in the first race I unfortunately did not manage to make the most of my excellent start. Physically I am still not 100% and when my arms started to harden, I was not able to defend myself from the attacks of the rivals. In Race 2 instead I really enjoyed myself, my pace was good and the bike, both in terms of suspension and engine, has grown a lot. To get to top form I think I still need a few more race weekends, but I am convinced that my results will improve further.”

The Englishman emerged tenth from the tricky opening turn in the first moto and maintained his composure throughout the thirty-minute-plus-two-lap race around the rugged hillside circuit, baked hard by the recent heatwave but with sharp-edged bumps throughout its length, to retain his top-ten ranking to the close. He eventually finished ninth and looked forward to a single-digit ranking in the overall classification, particularly after rounding turn one sixth in race two. Sensing that the two riders immediately ahead of him were desperately close to a collision on the approach to turn two he veered slightly to the right but the front wheel caught a sharp edge and he fell. A lap later he was struck from behind in traffic and fell again before mounting a strong recovery. Within ten minutes he had regained ten positions to break into the top-twenty and, pushing to the end, he eventually took the chequered flag thirteenth to miss the top-ten overall by a single point. He remains twelfth in the series points standings.
 
Ben Watson: “I’ve had a solid weekend and generally had a good feeling on the bike from first practice. P9 in Qualifying was not so important for the gate here but it’s always good for the confidence to have a good result on Saturday. I put in a solid first moto after starting around tenth and I had a much better start in sixth in race two but I was a little wary of Glen and Gajser in the air ahead of me going into turn two. I moved a little to the right, caught a sharp edge and lost the front end so I was last. I had a really good first lap, then coming over the finish line in traffic someone hit me from behind so I lost all those places again. After that I just kept plugging away and made some good passes to come away with thirteenth; the result should have been better but I leave with a good feeling about my riding headed for Lommel next weekend. It’s a tough one and anything can happen but I’ve had four podiums and my first win in MX2 there. “
 
It was a frustrating weekend for KRT team leader Romain Febvre. The Frenchman fell sick on Saturday but was determined to try to race. He slotted into eighth place from the start of race one with a tremendous surge around the outside of the first turn and held that position for twenty minutes until the strain took its toll. He persevered to the end to finish fifteenth but, after consultation with the team, decided not to start race two.
 
Antti Pyrhönen (KRT team manager): “Romain was already feeling a little sick even before he arrived here but he rode well on Saturday so we were still quietly confident for today. But then during the night he got really sick in his stomach; he couldn’t keep anything down and only slept for one hour. We know he’s a fighter and he tried his best in the first moto but after twenty minutes all his energy was gone and he was dehydrating after being unable to eat or drink so we decided it was better to sit out race two. “
 
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton looked strong in the first ten minutes of the opening moto as he moved forward decisively from outside the points-scoring positions to sixteenth before broken spokes, the result of contact with another bike, in the front wheel forced him out of the race. Determined to erase the disappointment he made several spectacular passes to advance from tenth to seventh within two laps and maintained that position, within sight of the top-six, for half the moto before succumbing to chasers in the closing stages to finish tenth. He remains seventeenth in the championship standings.
 
Jed Beaton: “The first race was just a problem when the wheel was broken; I’d been making passes and was battling for fifteenth-sixteenth so the feeling was already good and the second moto was the best I’ve had for some time. I know I can do it; I just needed that one race for the confidence. It could have been even better if the race fitness had been there but it’s been a tough year coming back from the injury and the last three laps I was pretty done from the heat. But it’s a step in the right direction and I’m looking forward to keeping it up. Lommel’s always tough but it’s the same for everyone, I’ve done a lot of riding in the sand and I’m starting to come back to fitness. “

The Englishman never found his regular rhythm in the heat of the rough sand track in the dunes overlooking the Mediterranean. Fourteenth choice of gate after Qualifying proved a mountain to climb and, despite KX450-SR power taking him strongly out of the gate to turn one, the outside line he faced there meant that he could only emerge twelfth in the first moto as riders on the inside drifted wide; he eventually finished seventeenth. Race two brought further frustration as he fell in the chaos of the first turn; his perseverance eventually earns eighteen position at the chequered flag. The English rider is now twelfth in the series points standings after eight rounds.
 
Ben Watson: “It was a really tough weekend. The feeling was quite good at the beginning and we tried to find the next step; we tried a lot of things but they didn’t work out. I had a good start in the second race but there was a start crash which was out of my hands at turn one and I ended up in a big heap with a couple of other riders. We’ll keep working. “

Ben Watson: “It’s been a tough weekend to say the least. Yesterday I just didn’t have the feeling but we sat down together on Saturday evening, put it behind us, went back to basics and were ready to go again today. I felt a lot better in warm-up but on the last lap I had a big crash. I don’t really know what happened; one minute I was going down the start straight flat-out and the next moment I was on my knees and had banged my head hard. I cut my chin and our team physio helped me a lot but I still had a really bad headache for the rest of the day. We weren’t sure at first if I would be able to start but I did a few practice starts on the test track and decided to try. I had nothing to lose, and could pull in if I felt too bad. My starts were good but it was tough from my gate position; in the end I finished eleventh and thirteenth. It’s not what I expect and not the way we wanted to start the season, but I need to take this opportunity with both hands and we will be back on the pace at Mantova next week”.

With the opening round of the world series just two weeks away and the Lacapelle track surface soft, rutted and unpredictable in the wake of heavy rain during the days before the race the Englishman Ben sensibly avoided any unnecessary risks in the early races.

In the first MX1 moto he quickly moved forward to fifth place before settling into a solid pace which kept the chasers off his rear wheel. The Brit was just inside the top twenty at the start of the second moto after spinning at the gate; staying out of trouble through the early laps he advanced majestically through the pack during the second half of the moto to secure another top-six finish with podium-speed laps to the chequered flag. The KRT rider saved the best for last as he showed he is acquiring the start technique for his new mount to round turn one second in the SuperFinal and hound the leader for the entire twenty-four-minute race. The Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP will complete its pre-season programme next weekend at Hawkstone Park in central England.
 
Ben Watson: “In the end the track got really technical and it showed in the results; there was just the one main line early in the day and that got really bumpy, deep and choppy so the start was important with not much chance to pass. I rode a little tight in the first race, but that’s normal at this time of the year. It’s the same in training but I get faster throughout the day; it’s nice that the GPs can return to the two-day format this year to get that out of the way. In the second race I just spun on the gate; towards the end I started making moves and was happy with that. I got a better start in the SuperFinal and could follow the leader all moto. Overall it was another positive day; we came here to work and learn and we did just that. Now we head to my “home” race at Hawkstone which will be another good preparation; we’ve had hard pack and ruts here, sand at Hawkstone and three races again. “
 
Antti Pyrhönen (KRT team manager): “Ben was riding well all day, but especially in the last race he showed what he can do and we are really happy with a good feeling. These races are really important as we acquire more knowledge of both the bike and Ben, and it’s important that he can build his confidence with good results. The mind-set has to be that these pre-season races are part of the training programme. We knew from the past that Lacapelle is quite tacky at this time of the year, so it was good training for the first GP at Matterley; the track there also has many ruts and is very technical. “

Earlier in the day the young Brit had fallen victim to the always hectic tight opening turn at the scenic track overlooking the magnificent coastline. Maintaining his composure he rejoined the race and had already advanced through the backmarkers to twelfth at the completion of the first lap. Three laps later he was seventh but time lost negotiating other riders inevitably meant that the rest of the leaderboard was more than ten seconds into the distance; settling into a good rhythm and posting solid lap times he finished just three seconds shy of the top-six.

 
The Kawasaki Racing Team and Watson will continue their early-season race preparation next weekend at Lacapelle Marival in central France; the opening round of the FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship is programmed for Matterley Basin in southern England in February 19/20.

 
Ben Watson: “I wouldn’t say it was a good weekend but the first race is now in the book; we came here mainly for getting into the rhythm of racing on the new bike and learning as much as we can to prepare for the MXGP season. The first race I had a lot of arm pump and couldn’t ride how I wanted to; I had a crash at the start of the race and it was not easy to come from the back, especially here at Alghero as the track is pretty narrow. The Super Final was a lot better; I took a good start and was able to ride how I want to. I finished fourth and learnt several things about the bike. It has been a short off-season and I’m not yet 100% used to the bike so it’s useful to do a couple of races before the GP season; when you are behind the gate it’s a very different feeling to training. I need to get more and more gate-time; a change of bike always demands a new technique for the start. After what we learnt this weekend we’ll make a few adjustments before the next race at Lacapelle next Sunday.”

 
Antti Pyrhonen (KRT team manager): “The first pre-season race is done; it’s always important to do a couple of races before the first GP. Ben had a tough start in the first race when he crashed at the start turn but then he rode a solid race to finish seventh. His second start was good; he had a strong moto and a fourth position is a good start after the winter. We always learn something in these pre-season races, and we’ll keep working as we have two further training races before the opening MXGP in UK.”