Image: Foremost Media.

Popular Victorian Dylan Long says he feels fortunate to escape a DNF at Appin’s opening round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals yesterday in New South Wales with minimal damage to his points situation.

Rain-soaked conditions prompted event organisers to declare racing after just one moto, allowing Long to exit the weekend without severely damaging his chances of working his way into the higher portion of the standings this season.

The Empire Kawasaki talent, who was making his debut with the official Kawasaki outfit, was taken down in turn one of the MX1 outing, resulting in an injured elbow and leaving him unable to continue in the brutally muddy encounter. Optimistic the injury isn’t too serious, Long will undergo further medical evaluation this week.

“I got together with a few guys in the first corner, I unfortunately went down and hurt my elbow,” Long explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “I think it’s just a hyperextension – Racesafe want me to go get some x-rays to see how it is, but I personally think it’s not too bad.

“It is an elbow that I’ve hurt before, so that is a little bit worrying. We got pretty lucky there was only the one race – I think a few people would’ve had results they didn’t want being as muddy as what it was. I tried to get back out there and finish, but I’m lucky it was just the one race and not two where I could’ve lost a lot of points in.”

The conditions promoted a mixture of results amongst top contenders, playing into the favour of a select few while hampering a significant portion of the field. Todd Waters (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna) emerged victorious in heroic effort that saw him climb from last through to first.