MotoOnline.com.au pulls out the microscope and takes a closer look at some of the giant-killers and disappointments from round six of the 2015 MX Nationals at Raymond Terrace.

Hit

Image: Jeff Crow.

Dylan Wills: After claiming the Under 19s Australian Supercross Championship last year, we’ve been keeping a close eye on young tearer Dylan Wills. It’s been heartening to see his results gradually improve in his rookie MX2 year, but Willsy really came into his own on Sunday. After chalking up his first ever pole by a whopping 1.5 seconds, the Sydney-sider dominated the opening moto from wire-to-wire. To prove how topsy-turvy the results were, a 13th in the second race due to some bad luck and two crashes still couldn’t stop him from gaining his first professional podium result.

Jay Wilson: The Josh Coppins-backed Jay Wilson mightn’t have won either MX2 moto at Raymond Terrace, but his consistent 3-2 results behind a white-hot Caleb Ward were good enough to snatch the championship points lead from his former Serco Yamaha teammate Luke Clout. Clouty had held the points lead since the second round at Appin and now finds himself in the unfamiliar position of having to chase Wilson as the series enters the crunch-time. Wilson has been unlocking some extra speed lately and it’s now paying off.

Matt Moss: Guess who’s back! Team Motul Suzuki’s two-time defending MX1 champ Matt Moss found his way onto the podium for the first time in 2015 with a 1-4 result and second overall. While Moss is well out of championship contention after a horrible first half, he’s going to be a thorn in the side of Kirk Gibbs and the legion of podium contenders from here on out. In the opening moto Mossy proved he’s still a class act with a solid win, backing it up with a fourth overall in an entertaining second race.

Miss

Image: Jeff Crow.

Lawson Bopping: After snagging a memorable overall win at the previous round at Coolum, Lawson Bopping got brought back to earth with a huge thud on Sunday. A brutal crash in the opening race bent everything up and even saw the lens of his goggles pop out. He copped a face full of rocks and roost for the rest of the moto and looked like he’d gone 12 rounds with a band-saw by the time he got passed the chequers. Things didn’t get much better in the second when he picked up a flat rear tyre 15 minutes in, but still struggled to ninth in the race for 12th overall. Whoever says motocross is easy should have a quiet heart-to-heart with Boppo.

Nathan Crawford: Young Nato Crawford’s hopes of a top three championship result took a hefty hit to the guts on Sunday. After struggling to 10th in the opening MX2 race, the Queenslander became one of several riders to drop a chain on the day. Making the incident more devastating was the fact that it happened on the sighting lap of the moto and he couldn’t even line up for the race. The DNS saw him slip from seventh to ninth in the championship and find himself more than 100 points behind new red plate holder Jay Wilson.

Jack Simpson: 2015 has been a bit of a baptism of fire for Jack Simpson in his debut year in the MX2 class, but Raymond Terrace was one of those days where he wished he’d never got out of bed. In the opening race he got caught in a third-turn pileup after an average start and clawed his way from the back of the pack to 14th. Things went from bad to worse in the second moto when his chain derailed and got caught in his rear wheel on the face of a double, spitting him over the ‘bars in spectacular fashion and resulting in a DNF next to his name. Simmo wasn’t hurt in the crash and will be back at Nowra.