Jacob Wright has had a tough entry to into the professional ranks after suffering a long list of injuries over the years which continued to hinder his performance.

In 2013 the 18-year-old Monster Energy MX Nationals MX1 contender feels that he has settled into the big leagues and has began to string together strong results aboard his privateer Honda.

“It’s definitely a different league going from juniors to seniors,” said Wright. “Everyone knows I’ve had a pretty rough go of it so far with the injury side of things, but I think I’ve adapted to it pretty well and kind of settled in now.”

Being 100 percent injury-free has played a huge role in Wrights strong results this season, but he admits getting starts in the deep talent field is key to successful motos.

“I haven’t been riding with injuries really, I’m injury free and I’ve been 100 percent at the races,” he explained. “The biggest part of it though is getting a start I think – if you start with the front guys it’s your race to lose from there.

“You can tag onto the front guys and stay up the front, but if you start at the back you’re stuffed and you’ve got to ride through.”

Jacob Wright is injury-free and gaining momentum in the MX1 class. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

With his best finish to date being a seventh overall at Murray Bridge, Wright believes he is a solid top 10 contender and on a good day he feels he could squeeze into the top five.

“I believe I’m definitely a top 10 guy,” Wright said. “When everything’s going well on a good day I think I can pull top fives here and there, but you have to get a start to do that.

“I’ve struggled in qualifying so far this year, but I think I can pull it together more in the races and settle into a rhythm.”

Currently sitting 12th overall in the championship chase, Wright is focusing on pushing forward and finishing up the season inside the top 10.

“I definitely would like to be inside the top 10, and better starts from here on out is going to get me inside the top 10,” he said. “The DNF at Broadford, I had a good ride going there and that kind of let me down a little bit.

“I just need to be consistently inside the top 10 and if I go top 10 this year I’ll be happy with that.

“It’s kind of a building year this year and then next year the goals will keep getting higher and higher, hopefully I can get more support for next year.”

Wright is hoping to gain more support for the 2014 season. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Wright is currently buying bikes and spare parts with some help from Tattoo Racing and One Industries, a true privateer in every sense of the word.

“Pretty much we’re just paying for bikes and stuff at the moment,” he explained. “Tattoo Racing are helping me out with everything they can.

“Also One Industries with Joel [Ryan] from C&R Imports, they’ve helped heaps with everything we’ve got this year so far. So that’s pretty much the only sponsors I have at this point.”

With his name being thrown around within social media for fill-in spots on factory teams quite regularly, Wright remains modest and admits that although it would make life easier, he is unsure if he deserves one of those spots or not at this stage.

“It’s hard for me to say whether I deserve it or not, but at the end of the day when you’re on a factory team all you have to worry about is training and riding your dirtbike,” he added.

“You don’t have to worry about getting your bike to the races, the parts, buying stuff for you bikes. It’s pretty much just done and there for you, so I think definitely if I were on a factory team it would make life a lot easier.”