Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Raceline Pirelli KTM’s Jay Wilson departed Jimboomba X Stadium satisfied with his 2017 Australian Supercross Championship opener on Saturday night after scoring fourth in the SX2 final.

After claiming seventh as a rookie in the SX1 points last year, Wilson contested the Arenacross UK series with mixed success, which led to a grand prix opportunity that was ultimately cut short.

Wilson rode to second in his heat race and then rebounded from a mid-pack start to claim fourth in the final at Jimboomba, marking a consistent start to his campaign. And consistency is exactly what the 2015 outdoor champion believes will lead to a strong result in the standings.

“I’m really happy with how the first round went,” Wilson said. “Finishing one position shy of the SX2 podium is a solid way to start the season and means that we have good points going in to Melbourne.

“I had a good lead-up to the weekend and it was sort of nice having everyone except those in my corner count me out – it meant I could just focus on doing my job without any added pressure and it paid off.

“I got second in my heat race and fourth in the main, which is nice and consistent, exactly what we wanted to achieve. Obviously a podium would have been the perfect scenario, but you need to be smart in supercross, particularly at the first round.

“The KTM 250 SX-F was flawless last night. We made a couple of small changes throughout the day and by the time we got to the main we had one of the strongest bikes out there. I’m excited to see where we can go from here.”

Now back in Australia full-time and after finishing out the MX Nationals with the factory-supported Raceline organisation, Wilson’s form at round one sets him up as a dark-horse for podiums and potential race wins when the series continues at Bacchus March on 14 October.