Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Small mistakes at the wrong times proved costly for the Yamalube Yamaha Racing duo of Jay Wilson and Richie Evans at round six of the MX Nationals, held at Conondale on the weekend.

Both riders proved they have what it takes to challenge for race and round wins in the MX2 division (250cc) but acknowledge that they will need to clean up some errors from the weekend to make that a reality.

Jay Wilson finished the weekend in sixth place on the back of 3-12 results. Wilson started the day in good form, finishing with pick three of the starting gate after qualifying well in third place and confident we could improve further in the racing.

He started well in race one and the lead trio of Aaron Tanti, Wilson Todd and Jay Wilson broke away from the rest of the pack and set a scintillating pace. All three were within a couple of seconds of each other and were nearly 15 seconds ahead of fourth as they started the fourth lap of the race.

But, as the battle for the lead was starting to intensify, Jay Wilson miscued a rut and fell from his bike and allowed the other two riders to race away. He was still able to remount in third and hold it all the way to the finish but knew he left something out on the track.

Moto two and Wilson faced some challenges. After a poor start, he raced his way forward and was closing in quickly on a tight knit pack battling over positions four through seven when he crashed again, this time dropping all the way to 12th when he re-joined the race. Unfortunately, the field was so spread out he was unable to regain any lost positions and finished in 12th place.

“On paper, the results don’t look great when you finish sixth overall but I think there were a lot of positives to take from the weekend. My speed was good and I was able to make passes on a track that other riders said was hard to pass and I felt really fluid on the bike.

“I went down twice but that was more me taking the attitude that I have nothing to lose so I’m going to lay it on the line and if I happen to go down every now and again, then so be it. I would rather do that at this stage and position I am in the series rather than be cautious and take the safe option.

“I’m going to go for it all the way to the finish and see where that puts me. As I said, it doesn’t matter to me where I finish at this point, I just want to ride as fast as I can,” Wilson said.

It was also a welcome return to racing for Richie Evans who has been on the sidelines since round two where he broke his hand and missed the following three rounds. Evans has been back on the bike for about a month now but this was the first race back at this level and it will take some time to get accustomed to the speed and intensity of racing an MX National.

Evans proved he was consistent with 7-7 results to finish seventh overall in a solid return to racing. He was inside the top five in race one before falling and dropping a couple of spots later in the race. His pace wasn’t quite that if the leaders but something to build on as the championship continues-o n.

Moto two saw him locked in a battle with riders for positions just outside the top five. He continued to toil away to finish in seventh place.

“It’s good to be back on the track and racing, although I’m a bit disappointed with how I rode and my results. I think I can go a lot faster and my race fitness needs to return but I will keep working hard and those things will come in the next couple of rounds.

“We have another two weeks before the next round so I will out in plenty of laps between now and then to ensure I do better at Raymond Terrace.”