Thomas Rushton battled to 21st in South Australia. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Wilsons Jetpilot MX teammates Thomas Rushton and Luke Wilson raced to hard-fought points at Murray Bridge’s fifth round of the MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, in South Australia on Sunday, 20 May.

Rushton continued his rookie season with his best results yet, finishing 20th in moto one and 18th in the final moto of the round to secure four vital championship points and 21st overall.

An incident in the second moto forced Rushton out with an ankle injury while he was again fighting for a points-paying position, however he was pleased with the overall result. Rushton now sits 33rd in the championship.

“In the first race I got an average start but managed to come back to 20th overall, which I was pretty happy with,” he explained. “In the second race I got a really bad start and crashed in the first turn. I managed to work my way into the points, but then I made a mistake and hurt my ankle so I couldn’t finish that. In the final race I got a decent start and finished 18th, so I was happy with that.”

Teammate Wilson raced to a brave 19th place in the opening race despite suffering a serious shoulder injury one-week prior in WA. The pain become too much during moto two and forced him out of the round, but he was satisfied to salvage two points in the first moto.

“It was pretty average, because last week in Perth I had a crash and separated my AC joint from my collarbone and that made it hard this week,” Wilson said. “I got 19th in the first race, which I was pretty happy with considering I was in a fair bit of pain, then in the second race I was struggling and ended up pulling out. We’ve got a big break now, so I’ll get ready for the rest of the season.”

Wilson will now take full advantage of the series’ winter break, enabling his shoulder to heal 100 percent. He is now ranked 30th in the standings following five of 10 rounds. The MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, will now take a mid-season break before returning at Hervey Bay in Queensland on Sunday, 1 July.