This is a little smaller than most First Looks, just because Beta Motors haven't released any photos other than on social media. All photos are from the Team or OEM Instagram accounts.
At the beginning of January, Beta Motors, known for its off-road and trials bikes and racing efforts, announced that they would be competing in the 2021 FIM MXGP World Championship. This was pretty huge news since, up until very recently, didn’t even have a 450 (or 250 for that matter) motocross specific machine. To give the team some firepower and credibility, they also hired veteran MXGP racer Jeremy Van Horebeek to race the RX 450 as well as rookie Jimmy Clochet, both racing the premier MXGP class.
This last weekend, Feb. 27-28th, was the first race of the International Italian Motocross Series in Riola Sardo, Sardinia, Italy. Since the MXGP season is still months away, many of the factory team heavy hitters come to this race to stretch their legs and test at “race pace.” This was the first time that Beta-SDM Corse MX Factory Team lined up in real competition and had a pretty impressive debut.
Jeremy Van Horebeek rode his Beta RX 450 to two fourth-place finishes. He was only bested by factory-supported racers the likes of Prado, Olsen, Febvre, and Coldenhoff, obviously no slouches there. He is coming off a Honda CRF450R that he rode in the 2020 MXGP championship for Team Honda SR Motoblouz. Jimmy Clochet was 12th in qualifying and 13th in the MX1 final.
What does all this mean? For one, it means both Van Horebeek and Clochet are getting along with the yet-to-be-released Beta 450. It also means that this bike and this team can hang with the big boys. Was all the factory teams there? No. And, no this wasn’t a full-on MXGP. This is a “pre-season” race where teams and bikes are still getting dialed in. But what is cool to see is that there is a new player in the motocross world and we are wondering what the final specs of the RX 450 will be and when we can ride one.
For more info go to BetaMotor.com.