By: Danny Brault

Photos: Jason T. Griffiths 

Kyle Beaton's racing a four-stroke the first time this season, and so far the switch has gone well. 

Yamaha Canada’s Kyle Beaton had a great weekend playing in the mud at Mission. The 16-year-old pulled two great starts, rode consistent and was rewarded with two second place moto finishes. Beaton didn't mind the poor conditions and says  he wouldn’t be upset if it pours at Nanaimo, as well. We caught up with Beaton Monday afternoon while he was busy catching up on school work, to find out his thoughts on round one.

RXC: Kyle, congratulations on the weekend, take us through your motos.
Kyle: Thanks, everything went pretty well right from the beginning of Sunday morning, I had good lap times in practice and felt real good. In the first moto, I got a good start behind Colt [Facciotti], passed him on the first lap and then started charging hard and got bit of a lead going. Then Dusty [Klatt] caught me about halfway through and pulled on me. I just rode smart and consistent, and managed to get second in that moto. In the second moto I pulled the holeshot, which was a lot easier because I didn’t have to deal with the roost; it was pretty muddy. I charged hard for the first couple laps and pulled bit of a lead. But then Dusty got me a bit sooner, that time, then I just rode consistent and let him go, got second again and second overall.

You must be pleased with your results.
I’m really happy with them; since we’re getting points now with that qualifying thing…

 I never heard of this, so you get points for qualifying?
Yeah, so we’re getting points for qualifying day, now. And so, me and Dusty are pretty close in the points chase because of qualifying points; I finished second and he finished fifth. So I’m only a point or two behind now, I just need to stay consistent and do good in the qualifying in the motos.

How does the points system work?
First is like five points, second four and so on down to fifth.

Do you like that system?
Yeah, in some aspects—I guess if you’re doing well, than yeah.[laughs] I don’t know it’s a bit different.

What were your expectations heading into Mission?
Well, as soon as it started raining I knew I could basically just about win the thing. I know the Mission mud pretty good and all the hot lines out there. I knew I could get top three; so I was petty happy.

You were probably one of the few wishing for rain.
Yeah, I don’t mind the mud at all! I hope the next round’s muddy too! [laughs]

How do you like the YZ 250F?
The four-stroke’s good. It was definitely easier to ride in the mud at the end of the moto; it wasn’t as bad. Like last year on the two-stroke is was a bit harder once the mud got caked on, it weighed down the bike. The four-stroke’s way better.

How much time do you have the four-stroke?
I started riding it right after our local arenacrosses, so two or three months. The first time I started riding it, though, I broke my wrist.

Since you lost time training, how high is your fitness level?
It’s not as high as it was before I broke my wrist, but it’s still good. I think I will be able to last when it gets hot and rough.

What’s your schedule this week? I guess since I’m speaking to you at this time, you took the day off school?
Yeah we don’t have school today—so that was a bonus. I just have to do homework and get caught up. I might go up to Pemberton with my trainer Todd [Shumlik] and work on a few things and ride with Doug [DeHaan] and Blair [Morgan].

 When did you start working with Todd?
I hooked up with him last year before the nationals last year, and started talking; we got a program going and it definitly helps. He’s doing a great job getting me fit and I notice a big difference going into this year.

 Does he help you out with nutrition and the mental side of racing, as well?
Oh yeah he helps me with everything, and Drew from Evolved Nutrition, he’s based out of Calgary. He helps me out with that [nutrition], him and Todd work pretty closely.

Back to the day off from school, how come there’s no classes today?
It’s a professional development day or something. Our school’s the only one that did it. I’m not complaining. [laughs]

What are goals for the Nanaimo and the following rounds?
Just to stay consistent; it’s a short series. You can’t really mess up, it’ll take all four to win it but it only takes one to lose it. Hopefully I can get top three and just get those valuable points.

What’s it going to take to beat Dusty?
I don’t know, he’s definitely tough. He’s going really well this year and he’s in good shape; he won’t be fading at the end of the moto. I’ll just have to holeshot and giver for the whole moto and hope he has a problem. Hopefully I can do it this weekend, I know the Nanaimo track pretty good and so does he, so hopefully I can do it.

What about the other two rounds— Calgary and Regina, are you looking forward to those tracks?
Calgary’s good, I love that track. It’s more of my style, up and down the hills with big jumps. It’s kind of a more technical track, not just wide open— it actually takes some skill to do good there with the off-cambers and all that. I don’t really like Regina from my past experiences there [laughs]. But you know what they say, third time’s a charm.

Well, thanks a lot for taking the time to speak with me Kyle, and good luck at Nanaimo.
No problem, thanks.