JYE DICKSON Q&A – PART 2

After addressing his impressive beginnings in the AORC, and expressing the stark differences between the realms of Motocross and Off-Road racing here in Australia in Part 1 of his Q&A, Jye Dickson gave us some insight into his off-road career with Beta and what the year ahead looks like as the Newcastle-based rider heads into his third full-time year competing in the Australian Enduro Championship…

In 2024, how did your move to the Beta team arise? Did you have any expectations?
Their race team manager approached me at the end of 2023, and said he was interested and wanted to get me on the bike, and it all kind of went from there. They were really easy to deal with, and it’s been really good so far. 

I didn’t really have too many expectations. I knew they were a good bike and they’ve been proven in the World Enduro. Fraser Higlett [former Beta team rider] had been riding his bike pretty well, so I knew they were capable of being a good bike, so I decided to get on it and see what I could do. 

Of the eight bikes in Beta’s RR Race model line-up, is there a reason that you went for the 480cc four-stroke, which is the heaviest of the lot? Or did you go for it because it was the only model eligible for the E3 class? 
It was either going to be the 430cc or the 480cc just because I think I ride a bigger bike better, just with the way my riding style suits them more. Beta obviously had Andy [Wilksch] coming on board as well, and he was pretty keen on the 430, so I thought I might as well have a go at the big bike. I really enjoyed riding it, so I thought, ‘why not?’.

We know you busted your hand last year, so how did you go about working around that injury and still taking the E3 title?
Yeah, that was a tough start to the year last year. I basically decided to grit my teeth for the first round and make it through the weekend with some half decent results. We had a bit of a break after the first round, so I was able to get it fully recovered and come back from that. It was definitely not an ideal start, and even the second round was pretty tough, but I managed to come back from that.

So, big picture, what have you learned in terms of bike set-up and your own approach to racing since starting your enduro career?
I’ve definitely learned a lot about the difference in tracks, and how you set up the bike to the track and the conditions. It just takes time and learning and all that, and definitely Andy Wilksch helped me a lot last year. He’s got a lot of knowledge, so it’s been good to have him as my teammate, and Ash Martin [Beta’s Australia Enduro Team manager] as well. Beta has definitely helped a lot, along with everyone that’s around offering advice, and learning by myself too has been fun.

The team support and back-up in Enduro racing – do you think it’s the same in MX? Is it more or less a vital component to having a successful season?
I think it might be a little bit different in the motocross scene. I was always a privateer when I was racing motocross, so not really too sure on that part, but it’s definitely very helpful when you have a good teammate who’s willing to share his knowledge and experience, and vice versa. It helps you a lot on race weekends, finding lines and bike set-up and so on and so forth. Definitely is a massive part of it. 

According to Beta Australia’s Tom Mendey, the team deal for the 2025 season is already done. What bike and class will you be competing in this year, and why?
I’ll be on the 480RR Race model again. After having a successful 2024, I thought I might as well try and pick that up and go again. I think there’s a few more people in the E3 class this year, so it’s going to be pretty stacked, so I look forward to trying to raise the level of my riding again and get some better Outright results.

What are your aspirations for this season? Do you have it in mind to be picked for the Aussie ISDE team? Or are you wanting to head over to the U.S. or Europe to race?
I’d definitely like to do the IDSE – I didn’t really put my hand up for it last year because I was injured at the start of the year and I was a bit unsure of how my season was going to go. Definitely this year it’s on the cards. I’d love to have a go at a Six-Day. It looks like a tough week, but lots of fun and good riding so that’s definitely on the cards if I’m able to get picked. 

Here in Australia, you’re obviously focused again on claiming the E3 title again. But is the AORC/AEC’s Outright now more of a focus – given that, after some seven long years, MA has finally decided to officially bring back the Outright?
Yeah, definitely. Even last year, the Outright result is what you’re aiming for. You want to try and get as high up as possible, and then hopefully that comes with a class win. It’s going to be cool now that they’re actually rewarding that a little bit more. So that’s definitely the goal; to try and get as high up of an Outright result as possible.