Image: Foremost Media.

Earning the Australian Supercross Championship SX2 crown on Saturday night’s Monster Energy AUS-X Open Sydney came as a huge relief for Jay Wilson, who endured a stressful weekend at Qudos Bank Arena.

The Yamalube Yamaha Racing ace entered the finale with an 11-point advantage, although a crash in Friday’s qualifying left the Gold Coast-based athlete admittedly rattled and only heightened his nerves for Saturday’s Triple Crown encounter.

Wilson managed to scrape through to the main event via a fourth place finish in the last chance qualifier granting him last gate pick, although he pulled through with a 8-5-7 scorecard for sixth overall to earn the title with six points over second’s Hayden Mellross (DPH Motorpsort Husqvarna).

“I’m not going to lie, that was just terrible riding and the worst I have raced for in so long, but we got through the night, got the championship done and I just couldn’t be happier,” said Wilson. “I was nervous all weekend and then that crash yesterday really took it out of me but I was determined to be strong and win my first supercross championship.

“Last year at the same venue was where I got my career back on track so it’s awesome that I was able to win a championship here and I have so many people to thank that have helped me get back to this point. Everyone at Yamaha who supported in me and believed in me when I was down and out, our team that does an amazing job each week, especially Mike Ward and Josh Coppins, who always have my back and have always played a part in my success.

“It was a stressful weekend and things got heated at times. But, it was great racing with Hayden [Mellross], Jacob [Hayes] and Wilson Todd and I want to also congratulate them on some great racing over the five rounds. I have really enjoyed racing them and we have kept it clean at each round and it’s been a lot of fun.”

The title marks Wilson’s second pro class championship, having earned the 2015 MX Nationals MX2 title, while it was his first professional supercross crown.