Introducing the 2020 Beta USA Factory Race Team!

Beta USA's Factory Team had great success in multiple series for the 2019 season and is looking to make 2020 the best year yet. Beta has re-signed multiple riders, and has added a few new riders to the lineup, resulting in a powerful team packed with talent & determination that is focused on one goal...Winning Championships!

Beta USA President; Tim Pilg

"I am very pleased about the team Rodney has put together this season! With many of the other manufacturers pulling away from off road racing, I feel it is very important to continue supporting riders in the sport. We have a very talented team competing in more than seven different AMA National Championships for 2020 and I am looking forward to seeing what they are capable of."

Race Team Manager; Rodney Smith

"I'm very excited for this coming racing season! Going on my 3rd year as the team manager for Beta I couldn't be more happy with the way things are going at Beta and especially the race team! I feel we have our best team yet and all of my riders are capable of winning a championship!!"

Returning Beta USA Factory Team Riders:

Chance Fullerton

WORCS / Big 6 Grand Prix Series

"I am happy to announce that I have extended my contract with Beta USA another year. I feel better prepared than ever before and am changing some series around to hopefully have my most successful year yet!"

Cody Barnes

GNCC (XC2 Class) / National Enduro Series

"I am very excited to be with the Beta USA team again. They are great to work with and they make sure I have everything I need to win races!"

Joe Wasson

National Hare & Hound / West Hare Scramble Series

"I am beyond stoked to be going into 2020 with Beta USA! Looking to learn from my mistakes and snag a championship."

Max Gerston

Outdoor Extreme Enduro / Enduro X Series

"I am happy to sign a one year contract with Beta USA for the 2020 season. This will be my 9th year with Beta and I look forward to crushing it with them next year."

Zane Roberts

National Hare & Hound / WORCS Series

"I couldn't be happier to continue my relationship with Beta USA and move up to the Factory Team for 2020! I have had a great year thus far riding as a Beta support rider and have had the honor of working with an awesome group of people."

Morgan Tanke

National Hare & Hound / Enduro X Series

"I am really excited to be back on the Beta Team again and am looking forward to racing the new bikes next year!”

Rachel Gutish

GNCC / National Enduro Series

"I'm looking forward to another successful season with Beta in 2020!"

New Beta USA Factory Team Riders:

Chase Colville

GNCC Series (XC3 Class)

"So excited to sign with Beta USA for the 2020 GNCC season, can't thank Rodney Smith and Tim Pilg enough for giving me this great opportunity."

Ron Commo

Outdoor Extreme Enduro / Enduro X Series

"I'm very excited and thankful for the opportunity to get back to my roots and represent Beta USA."

Thorn Devlin

GNCC (XC2 Class) / National Enduro Series

"I'm excited and humbled to be representing Beta USA in 2020. I am confident in Beta's skills and knowledge that we will put in results that showcase our capabilities. I'm very thankful for the opportunity and I look forward to a great year together."

Returning Beta USA Support Riders:

Brian Dussualt

Netra Hare scramble Series

"I am honored to be selected for the Beta race team. I am also looking forward to racing the new Beta's in 2020 and representing them on the podium!"

Kyle McDonal

East Hare Scramble Series

"The off season is going great getting prepared for next year. I'm ready to get the new race season going with the newly designed 390 RR and accomplish new goals new goals, bring on 2020!"

New Beta USA Support Rider:

Cole Conatser

National Hare & Hound / West Hare Scramble Series

"I am super excited and thankful for this opportunity! I hope to really show what the Beta 250 RR and I are capable of!"

Beta race team news!

Jordan Ashburn takes 1st place at Full Gas Sprint Enduro!
The races in Uhrichsville, Ohio last weekend started off with almost perfect weather conditions. Competition was fierce and the pace of each race amplified by each day. The gap between 1st place rider Jordan Ashburn and 2nd place rider Steward Baylor narrowed as the weather conditions worsened. 

Rider Jordan Ashburn stated; "My goal for the weekend was to put my head down and minimize mistakes. I couldn't have done it without all the support from my team."

Nick Davis Takes 1st place in the 4th Round of the East Hare Scramble Championship Series, while Kyle McDonal took 2nd!
Nick Davis pulls off a win after returning from a recent leg injury. His conditioning and practice seems to be paying off, while he prepares to return back to the GNCC series.
Kyle McDonal ends the race in second place, but is leading the AMA East Hare Scramble Championship Series in points. 

Justin Wallis Takes 8th place in the WORCS Race event at Glen Helen Raceway.
The scorching heat wave was expected to be too much for the riders last weekend at Glen Helen. The races had to be rescheduled for an earlier time than originally anticipated, while shortening the race time to an hour and a half. 
Wallis is currently sitting in 9th place overall for the WORCS Pro MC series.

Beta USA's Rodney Smith has been promoted to head up the Beta USA race department. The AMA Hall of Famer and five-time GNCC champion has been working for Beta for the last 12 months as a rider coach and now will take over as the race team manager. 

Beta USA's President Tim Pilg comments, "It has been a huge benefit to our team ever since Rodney came aboard full time last season. His approach to racing matches our goals for the team so it made perfect sense to have him take over the team manager position."

Smith is looking forward to developing the team and more, "I'm very excited to have this opportunity to run the Beta USA race team! I've been working & coaching the riders this year and now Beta has asked me to manage the team. I'm very excited to bring my experience I've learned over the years as a racer and champion as well as being inducted in the AMA hall of fame! I've had the chance to see & learn from my past managers, including Mike Webb, and now I'm looking forward to being able run my own team & to further give our racers the knowledge & experience to win some more championships for my riders, Beta, & myself."

Beta's GNCC pilot Jordan Ashburn had this to say, "Being able to work with Rodney Smith is a true privilege. He is a former GNCC champion with lots of knowledge. I'm really excited for him to take charge of the Beta race team and help us achieve our goals."

Smith will also work with EnduroX rider's Max Gerston, Ty Cullins, and Morgan Tanke as the EnduroX season begins in Las Vegas on August 19th along with the other team members.

Photo by Shan Moore

Gerston leads the AMA West Hare Scrambles points chase!

Beta USA's Max Gerston has been racing the AMA West Hare Scrambles series as a warm up to the EnduroX season and after last weekend's second place finish in Milford, California, he now leads the points after five rounds. Gerston has been campaigning the series aboard his Beta 390 RR. 

Max Gerston Comments: "Honey Lake Hare Scramble had a rough track complete with cool running creaks and rocky service roads connected by virgin single track. I was able to get into second place early and set a solid pace. I put in a charge the last 3 laps but couldn't catch the leader. Another solid podium is great, but I want a win!"

In other news, Beta USA's Race team coach, Rodney Smith, showed up at the Glen Helen Two Stroke World Championships and scored the overall win in the over 50 class. Max Gerston used the event as a warm up for the upcoming EnduroX season and showed he also has the speed finishing 13th after two motos in a stacked field.

Smith explains, "I had a great weekend hanging out with my team Beta riders Max Gerston, Ty Cullins & Morgan Tanke !!! Had so much fun they talked me into racing where I ended up having a great battle with Andy Jefferson & Pete Murray! But it felt great to bring home the win on my Beta 300 RR!"

Photo by Kato

Gerston podiums in last weekend's AMA WHS (West Hare Scramble) Championship!

Beta USA's Max Gerston finished 3rd in last weekend's AMA WHS (West Hare Scramble) Championship held in Redding, California proving the talented racer from Arizona is a contender for the title. The event had rain before the start which eliminated the dust and greeted riders with almost perfect conditions. Gerston is looking very comfortable on his 390 RR and is currently second in points.

Gerston describes his race, "I had a great time at the Shasta Dam Hare Scramble. There was a lot of different terrain and my Beta 390 was the perfect fit for the job. The course was a 20 mile loop with everything from fast roads with huge water bars to virgin technical single track. It was a little fast for my liking but I still had a blast and ended up with a solid 3rd place finish, Braaap!"

The Beta GNCC team was at round four of the popular series held in Morganton, North Carolina. XC1 racer Jordan Ashburn was in 10th after the first lap and continued to make a charge to the front however with the pace of the top five, Ashburn ran out of time and finished the three hour race in 6th.

Ashburn had this to say, "Steel creek is a super tough track with huge braking bumps and steep hills. I didn't get the best start to the race. I came around the first lap in 10th place. I managed to make some passes over the next few laps and got to 6th. I was able to end the day in 6th place and get some good overall points."

Teammate and XC2 specialist Nick Davis made his GNCC return after his dislocated leg at the opening round. Davis got the holeshot of the XC2 start and ran as high as second in the race however faded to an eventual 8th place at the finish. Not a bad result considering the extent of his injury. 

Davis had this to say, ""My Beta 250 RR got me off to an awesome start by grabbing the hole shot. From then on I ran with the lead pack for the first hour and a half then my leg got weak. I started having to sit a lot and hold on really tight with my hands. Which then resulted in my hands blistering very severely. But all in all for being about 70 percent and haven't ridden in weeks I will take the finish that we got. Lets bring on the next one!" 

Davis' teammate Drew Higgins also had a decent finish with a solid seventh at the line. Higgins had filled in for Davis, however team coach Rodney Smith was impressed with his performance and made the call to keep him in the series. 

Higgins comments, "The race yesterday was held in the mountains of North Carolina, it was a race that I was looking forward to. My race started off good, I was about 6th or 7th heading into the woods. Not too long after entering the woods, I began to get super pumped up from my under gloves. I started to ride really tight and not flowing through any of the bumps and going the speed I needed to go. I dropped back to 9th for the majority of the race, and on the last two laps I made a hard charge and caught 6th. Wishing I could have made the pass, but had to settle for a 7th. My last two laps were my best feeling laps, after I finally got rid of the arm pump and started riding like myself. No excuses, the bike worked awesome. Wishing I would have been able to charge right from the beginning and go with the fast guys. But I know what to do next time for my hands, and I learned a lot today with race strategy and as a team we learned a lot about fuel mileage. My shoulder and back are feeling really good, so I'm ready to get home and get back to riding and get ready for round 5 in South Carolina!"

Max Gerston will race the Glen Helen 2-Stroke World Championships this weekend aboard a special 300 RR set up for moto. The race will be a nice cross trainer for the EnduroX season coming up in August.

Photo by Kato