The opening round of the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship proved a challenging day for the Yamalube Yamaha Team of Jay Wilson and Richie Evans but both battled on tirelessly and left the Brisbane Entertainment Centre well placed for the series ahead.
Wilson, the current SX2 (250cc) champion, started the day strongly, posting the 2nd fastest lap in Qualifying and finishing second in his heat race, giving him a direct transfer to the 2 x 10 lap main events.
But not getting the jump at the drop of the gate in final one saw Wilson and several other riders locking handlebars and elbows down the short start straight. At the 10 rider field converged on the first turn, Wilson was sent flying from his bike and three riders went down in the carnage. He picked up his bike and returned to the race well behind the pack but was able to scramble his way back to seventh place by race end.
Race two faired a little better and despite not getting a great start, he stayed on two wheels and got through the first lap safely. He was then able to make passes and move forward as the race progressed to eventually wind up in fourth position and his combined 7-4 results were good enough for fifth overall on the night.
‰ÛÏFifth isn‰Ûªt ideal but I‰Ûªm in the mix and left round one healthy but determined to do better. I didn‰Ûªt get the middle rhythm section as good as I would have liked all night and it proved a little costly. It was the one section of the track where I let myself down but I will be better next weekend," Wilson explained.
‰ÛÏMy bike is good and the team were great again so we will take the positives from the weekend, work on a few things and come out swinging in Adelaide where we are back to a more traditional format of racing with a 15 lap main event."
