Nathan Watson

Nathan Watson
Born (1994-05-10) 10 May 1994
Nottingham, England
Current teamBeta Factory Enduro team
Motocross World Championship
Years active2013-2015, 2020-2021
Teams
  • HM Plant KTM UK
  • Dantec Husqvarna
  • RedBull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing
  • Honda SR Motoblouz
Best finish23rd in 2015
Enduro World Championship
Years active2016-2017, 2021-
TeamsBeta Factory Enduro Team
Former teams
Best finish4th in 2022
World Enduro Super Series
Years active2018-2019
TeamsRed Bull KTM Factory Racing
Best finish3rd in 2018
French Sand Racing Championship
Years active2017/2018-2019/2020
TeamsRed Bull KTM Factory Racing
Starts17
Championships2 (2018/2019, 2019/2020)
Wins10

Nathan Watson (10 May 1994-) is a British motocross, enduro and sand racer. He is a twice French Sand Racing Champion.

Biography

Watson was born on 10 May 1994 in Nottingham, England.[1] He comes from a motorcycling family. His father Rob Meek is a multiple Weston Beach Race winner and his younger brother Ben competes in the FIM Motocross World Championship.[2]

Career

After starting competitive racing at club level aged 9, Watson moved up to national races in 2006. In 2009 he was the winner of the BW85cc Red Bull Elite Youth Cup. Moving up to the 250 cc (15 cu in) class, he won the BYMX and RBEYC Rookie titles.[2]

Watson won the Skegness Beach Race in 2012 and again in 2013.[3]

In 2013 Watson competed in the British Motocross Champion in the MX2 class, he won the Hawkstone Park round and finished the season in 6th place.[4] Moving up to MX1 for 2014 Watson won the class[5] racing for Danetc Husqvarna UK. He was drafted into Kimi Raikkonen's Red Bull IceOne Racing Husqvarna team as a replacement rider for the 2014 GP of Germany, where he qualified 4th. His performance earned him a full time ride with the team in 2015.[6] In April Watson was injured during a race in the ADAC MX Master Series in Germany and required surgery on a fractured bone in his wrist. The injury caused him to miss several MXGP races.[7] He finished the season 10th Overall in MXGP.[1]

After several attempts in previous years Watson won the Weston Beach Race in 2015.[8]

For 2016 Watson switched from MX to Enduro[9] joining the Factory KTM team and competing in the Assoluti d’Italia (Italian Enduro Championship) and the Enduro World Championship[8] where he finished 2nd in the E1 class. In 2017 he finished 3rd in the E2 class.[10] He won the Skegness Beach Race for the third time in 2016.[3]

Watson also competed in the 2017/2018 French Sand Racing Championship (CFS) for KTM, winning 3 of the 6 races.[11]

With the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team switching allegiance from the Enduro World Championship to the newly created World Enduro Super Series (WESS), Watson competed in the WESS in 2018,[12] finishing 3rd in the series,[5] and 7th in 2019.[13]

After coming second in the two previous runnings of the Red Bull Knock Out Watson won the event in 2018.[5]

Watson was the first British rider to win the Enduropale du Touquet in 2019. The win clinched the 2018/2019 French Sand Racing Championship (CFS) title.[14] He repeated winning the CFS title in the 2019/2020 season.[15]

Watson was chosen to compete for Great Britain in the 2019 Motocross des Nations held at TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands. The circuit was covered with sand for the event. The British team finished third overall.[16]

In 2020 Watson left KTM and signed with the Honda France SR Motoblouz team to become the lead rider of their new second team created to compete in the French Sand Racing Championship.[5] Watson competed in the final 2 races of the 2021 FIM Enduro World Championship for RedMoto Honda.[17] Racing full time in the 2022 season Watson finish 4th overall in the EnduroGP and 3rd in the E2 category.[9]

In 2023 Watson competed in the Assoluti d’Italia (Italian Enduro Championship)[18] as well as the Enduro World Championship in which he finish 6th overall in the EnduroGP and 4th in the E2 category.[9]

In 2024 Watson signed for the Betamotor and joined Brad Freeman in the Factory Enduro Team to compete in the EnduroGP World Championship.[9] In 2026 he is competing in the ACU British Sprint Enduro Championship for the Beta Factory Enduro team.[19]

Results

French Sand Racing Championship

(key)

French Sand Racing Championship
Year Bike BER LOO BAL HOS GRA TOU Pos. Points Source
2017/2018 KTM 5 1 ? 1 1 2 2nd ?
2018/2019 KTM 2 1 1 1 1 1st 735 [20]
2019/2020 KTM 2 1 1 2 1 3 1st 845 [21]

References

  1. ^ a b "Nathan Watson (UK)". Rabaconda. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Nathan Watson: Grown strong". TMX: The home of Trials and Motocross. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b "Watson's victorious return". LincolnshireWorld. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  4. ^ "Throwback Thursday: British Championship 2013 - MX2 Class". Dirt Hub. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d Dancède, Jack (26 August 2020). "Nathan Watson quitte l'enduro". Freenduro.com (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna is Ready for 2015". Red Bull. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  7. ^ Stallo, Chase (15 April 2014). "Nathan Watson (Wrist) Expected to Miss Six Weeks - MXGP". Racer X. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Nathan Watson eyeing Enduro assault". Dirtbike Rider. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d "Nathan Watson Joins The Beta Factory Enduro Team". Betamotor S.p.A. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Nathan Watson". KTM. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  11. ^ "Enduropale 2018 : Nathan Watson, l'homme à battre" [Enduropale 2018: Nathan Watson, the man to beat]. L'Équipe (in French). 27 January 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  12. ^ "KTM Ready To Race World Enduro Super Series 2018". KTM Sportmotorcycle. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  13. ^ "Manuel Lettenbichler crowned Ultimate Enduro World Champion at GetzenRodeo". Red Bull. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  14. ^ "How Nathan Watson became the first Brit to win Le Touquet Beach Race". Red Bull. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Watson Crowned 2020 French Beach Race Champion At Enduropale Du Touquet". Dirt Hub. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  16. ^ Matthes, Steve (3 October 2016). "Steve Matthes Recaps the 2019 Motocross of Nations". Racer X. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  17. ^ Pearson, Jon (1 October 2021). "Nathan Watson returns to EnduroGP with RedMoto Honda". Enduro21. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Nathan Watson and Thomas Oldrati renewed for 2023 season - Honda RedMoto Racing". Honda Racing RedMoto. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  19. ^ Pearson, Jon (16 March 2026). "2026 British Sprint Championship Results: Brad Freeman Wins Rounds 1+2". Enduro21. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  20. ^ "2018-2019 - CFS - Motos - Scratch" (PDF). ffmoto.org. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  21. ^ "2020 - CFS - Motos - Scratch" (PDF). ffmoto.org. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.