Team Honda Racing press release:

Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team’s Dylan Long and Jay Wilson made further progress despite challenging conditions at round three of the Motul MX Nationals at the State Motorcycle Complex in Broadford yesterday.

With heavy rain drenching the iconic venue prior to racing kicking off yesterday, both Long and Wilson rose to the occasion in the muddy conditions, walking away from the round with a handful of additional points in the overall championship standings.

With qualifying and Superpole both removed from the MX1 schedule yesterday, when racing got underway, Wilson only narrowly missed out on the first holeshot – from there Wilson held on to fifth position, before lappers caused the Honda mounted rider to drop two places, seeing him conclude race one in 7th.

After getting to a reasonably good start in race two, lapped riders once again made making passes difficult on the one lined Broadford circuit, and as a result Wilson settled for 8th position. With both results combined, Wilson wrapped up round three in 8th overall, and made up two positions in the MX1 championship standings.

“There were a lot of positives to take out of round three. As a team we’ve made some great progress with the bike, and we’re content with how things ended up,” he said.

“In race one, I was quite happy with the way I was riding and it was just a shame that lapped riders got in the way and held me up. We have the speed in the early stages of the moto, so I’m just working on being able to keep that up on the CRF450 for the entire race.

“At the moment I’m learning every time we go to the races, so it’s great to get another round under my belt, and we’re happy with the direction we’re going in with the bike and the team.”

For Long, moto one proved to be a challenge, but despite stalling in the top section of the track, and suffering a small crash, the Honda mounted rider recovered to salvage 10th position. In race two, the ride of the day for the Honda backed team came from Victorian local Long.

After getting to a solid start, Long fought off tough competition aboard his Honda, to race to an impressive fifth place finish. With a top five in the final race of the day, Long wrapped up round three in 6th overall at Broadford, and now sits in 7th in the MX1 championship standings.

“Things went not too bad for me at Broadford. The track was pretty wet in some spots which made things interesting, but we had another good round on the Honda,” he said.

“I didn’t have the best race in moto one, but in moto two I was able to stay consistent and finish in fifth position. For me, this was a much better result and it gives me a lot more confidence knowing that we can finish up there.

“As a team we’ve learnt a lot these past few rounds, and I think we’re in a pretty good position now, so we’re looking forward to getting back out there at Murray Bridge.”

The Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team will now begin preparations for round four of the Motul MX Nationals which will be held at Murray Bridge in New South Wales on Sunday May 22.

For more information on the Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team, head to www.teamhondaracing.com.au

For more information on the MX Nationals, head to www.mxnationals.com.au