Briton Ben Watson has clinched a deal to ride the factory Beta 450 in the MXGP championship in 2023, teamed up with Italian Alessandro Lupino. A third, younger rider will be named soon.

It is part of a brand new Beta team, called Beta MRT Racing, that will run the factory Beta RX 450. Two years after its debut in the MXGP World Championship, Betamotor decided to renew its Motocross commitment by teaming up with a new squad to run the racing effort.

The MRT Racing Team, an all-Italian organisation from Viterbo, made its debut in the Motocross World Championship in 2012.

Born in 1997 in Nottinghamshire, Watson is one of the most promising young British riders of recent years. He missed out on the top ten in the final MXGP standings by a handful of points in 2022 while riding the factory Kawasaki.

Watson has had a Top Five finish in the MX2 World Championship in both 2018 and 2020, with wins in the GPs of Lommel and Pietramurata, moving on to MXGP in 2021.