Image: Marc Jones (Foremost Media).

Serco Yamaha’s Nathan Crawford put on a dominant display at Appin’s second round of the Pirelli MX Nationals in New South Wale todays, stealing the MX2 points lead as he lodged a stellar 1-1 scorecard.

Queensland’s Crawford won the opening MX2 moto of the round in commanding fashion, working his way up the order from outside the top five and into the lead in the closing portion.

In the end Crawford crossed the line 8.268s ahead of longtime leader and former national champion Jay Wilson (Yamalube Yamaha Racing), who got out front early and rode a strong race, only falling victim to the lightning-quick Crawford when it counted.

Still, Wilson was comfortably ahead of top local Dylan Wills (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna), as he completed the podium from points leader Aaron Tanti (Complete Parts Kawasaki Racing).

That was where things tightened up, with Tanti edging supercross champion Jackson Richardson (Penrite CRF Honda Racing) for position and directly followed by Wilson Todd (Serco Yamaha), number one plate-holder Egan Mastin (KTM Motocross Racing Team) and Richie Evans (Yamalube Yamaha Racing).

Fastest qualifier Kyle Webster (Penrite CRF Honda Racing) recovered from a disastrous first lap to finish ninth, with Hamish Harwood (Davey Motorsports KTM) completing the top 10.

The second moto of MX2 once again saw Wilson establish himself out front early, however with Crawford in second out of the gates, he soon took charge and went on to win by 8.789s. This time he won ahead of Serco Yamaha teammate Todd, with Wilson eventually crossing the line in third.

Honda teammates Richardson and Webster collected fourth and fifth respectively, while Mastin improved by one position to sixth this time around. Seventh was a strong showing for rookie Jy Roberts (Husqvarna), as Wills rebounded from an early crash to claim eighth.

Wills was followed by Kale Makeham (Yamaha) and Harwood, who again completed the top 10. Previous points leader Tanti endured a challenging second moto, finishing all the way down in 14th.

Overall it was Crawford who won and took over the red plates in the process, topping Wilson and Todd in an all-Yamaha round podium. The next stop on the MX Nationals calendar is scheduled for 19-20 May at Wonthaggi in Victoria, marking the first double-header of the year.

Detailed results