Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Supremely-quick privateer Beau Beaton has put Bridgestone on the map in this year’s Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli during the opening rounds.

The Racers Edge Performance/McMartin Racing/North Coast V-Twins rider has been a standout and frequently inside the top 10 to date this season after taking a gamble to compete on Bridgestones.

With the current ASBK ‘tyre war’ primarily playing out between Pirelli and Dunlop, Bridgestone has secured a top-line rider in Beaton – a move that has assisted his private squad in committing to a full ASBK campaign in 2017. And they’re only going to gain strength from here.

“It’s all fallen into place really quickly and it didn’t take long to get a ballpark setting,” 30-year-old Beaton told CycleOnline.com.au. “Especially around here we’ve been going pretty good straight away – I haven’t been here in three years. The Bridgestone support has been fantastic and it has been a bit of a gamble in some ways.

“We all spoke about it and it was a team decision, so we’re really happy with the support from Craig White at Whites Racing Products and McLeod Accessories. To be in the top 10 pretty consistently so far, I’m stoked, and I think we’ve got even more to come because the more we learn, the quicker we’re going to get.”

The multiple national Pro-Twins champion and current Australasian Superbike number four was once again impressive in eighth overall at Wakefield Park on Friday, within a second of factory Honda’s defending champion Troy Herfoss.

Following Phillip Island’s opening round last month, Beaton currently sits ninth in the title-chase entering Wakefield Park’s pair of 20-lap races on Sunday.