Colt Nichols will be the second rider for the Beta Motorcycles 450 team in 2024, joining Benny Bloss as the manufacturer debuts in the Monster Energy Supercross series in January. At the time of the announcement they would become the ninth brand to compete in SuperMotocross, the team said testing would begin in August and a second rider would be announced then.
This time, the announcement was a little coyer. In social media post at Instagram Wednesday night, Beta USA showed a brief clip of Nichols’ bike liveried with Liqui Moly as the sponsor and ending on his familiar No. 45 plate.
On Thursday, the team followed up with a press release announcing the deal was for two years.
“I’m very excited to be signed with the Liqui Moly Beta Racing Team for the ’24 and ’25 seasons,” Nichols said. “It means a lot to me to be able to pioneer a new brand coming into Supercross and I’m going to represent this brand/team as best as I possibly can. Couldn’t be happier and I can’t wait to get started.”
Riding for Honda HRC in the Supercross series last year, Nichols finished 14th in the points’ standings despite missing four rounds of competition.
Nichols was pressed into service when Ken Roczen exchanged his Honda for a Suzuki at the beginning of 2023. Nichols’ part time schedule on the bike Jett Lawrence would inherit for the 2023 Pro Motocross season was expected to include the season-ending race at Salt Lake City before a crash at Denver injured his knee.
Nichols moved into the 450 class after winning the 250 SX East division in 2021. An injury kept him sidelined for the 2022 season.
Riding only 13 of 17 rounds of competition in Supercross and missing the start of the outdoor season, Nichols fell outside of the top 20 in combined SuperMotocross points following Round 24 in Spring Creek, Round 7 of Pro Motocross, so he borrowed a bike last week, finished 10th overall and climbed to 19th in the standings.
Beta will join Triumph Motorcycles as a second historic brand to join the sport in 2024. First established in 1902, Triumph has won in nearly every division they have competed in, dating back to their first victory in the 1908 Isle of Man TT. Triumph will debut in the 250 class in 2024 and plans to expand into 450s in 2025.
