Image: Keith Muir.

Racer’s Edge Performance/McMartin Racing/North Coast/V-Twins will welcome Beau Beaton back for this weekend’s Hidden Valley round of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli.

Beaton will be back aboard the Ducati 1199 R in the Top End after missing the Winton race weekend due to personal reasons and is looking forward to picking up where he left off at Wakefield Park.

It had been a stunning start to the season for the likable 30-year-old, consistently featuring inside the top 10 prior to his short absence. Although, the plan is to ease back into action when practice commences on Thursday.

“It was disappointing not being able to be there, but I needed a little break because of personal reasons,” Beaton told CycleOnline.com.au. “We were umming and ahhing whether Darwin was on the cards and it was a last-minute decision to head back up there.

“I rode the bike two weeks ago just to get my head back around the bike again and it went well. I got to try the new K-Tech suspension in Sydney, so it was good to get back into it and we’ve got three and a half days of riding in Darwin, so I’m sure by Sunday I shouldn’t be too far off where I left off.”

While Beaton’s back, Josh Hook will skip the Hidden Valley round while instead testing for this month’s Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan. There’s still a possibility that he will be back to round out the season alongside Beaton in an expanded two-rider team, according to Craig McMartin.

“We did line it up for Josh to do the rest of the season and obviously he was at Winton,” McMartin explained. “And then he got the deal with Honda to do Suzuka and so he’s in Japan for all of July. Fingers crossed that he will be back after that, but we will just have to wait and see.”