Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Round two of the 2018 Australian Supercross Championship provided plenty of ups and downs for the Yamaha supported teams as the on-track action was tight and tense. The highs came in the form of a stirring SX2 victory from Jay Wilson while the lows hit Nathan Crawford as he sustained a leg injury and will be out for the remainder of the season.

To view the video round recap: https://youtu.be/VB8R4gpQeRE

Crawford fell awkwardly in the opening stages of his heat race while battling with Brett Metcalfe. He came down on his leg and instantly grabbed at his knee area as pain surged through his body. He was then assisted from the track where RACESAFE treated him and has since been in for surgery.

“I came off the last jump in a section and little off balance and landed with my foot on the ground. The impact was hard enough to push my femur and tibia together and as a result, I have split the top of my tibia. That all happened before I even crashed so when I hit Brett, the injury was already done, and I was struggling with the pain of it.

“I had surgery on Monday and the doctors have said while it was ugly in there, they are happy with the outcome and things are looking good. I can’t put load on it for the next six weeks but they expect the leg to be 100% and I will then begin getting started on 2019,” Crawford ends.

Craig Dack – CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team – SX1
“The team has been on an amazing run of success the last three seasons, but we had a tough weekend at Coolum and that’s just the ebbs and flows of motorsport. There is no need to hit the panic button, we just need to back our system and our people and I’m sure the weekend was just a small hiccup in what has been a very successful season for us.

“The injury to Nathan is upsetting but things look to be on the mend now with doctors saying he will make a full recovery but will need some time off the bike to heal up. It’s a shame he went down but racing can be tough, and he certainly felt that on the weekend.

“For Dylan, he just needs to lock down a good result. His riding appears to be ok, but in a strong field like we have in SX1, he can’t give riders like Justin Brayton or Brett Metcalfe a head start and expect to peg them back. When he started with Brayton at Adelaide last year, he ran with him the entire 20 laps, so just for his own confidence, he just needs to get a start when it matters and run up the front to get a feel for the speed, then I’m sure he will be right.”

Gavin Eales – Serco Yamaha – SX2
“It was a weekend that was so close, but we just couldn’t get it across then line when we needed it. Wilson and Jacob finished third and sixth in the Sx2 final and both were fast enough to improve on those results, but it was a hectic 15 laps with a lot of action happening all over the track.

“Wilson was up the front the entire final and there was nothing between the top five riders for the whole race. He moved between second and fourth as riders went back and forward but when the race was over, he was in third which is an improved result on round one, but he still wants more, so he will be out to turn it up this weekend in Geelong.

“For Jacob, he just can’t get a start and that has really impacted his results. Even in the heat race, he hasn’t been able to get a good start and as a result, he doesn’t get a great pick for the main event, so he is always charging from the back. He has worked on starts a lot this week so hopefully he can get himself up front early and we get to see his real speed at Geelong this weekend.

Scott Bishop – Yamalube Yamaha Racing – SX2
“It was another positive weekend for the team with both guys riding well and achieving their goals. Jay rode an amazing race as he came from fifth to pass each rider in front of him to claim the race win. It was clearly the race of the day as the top five guys were so close and had to deal with so much pressure. The SX2 field so very competitive this year and no race win will come easy so it’s going to be an exciting series to watch as it develops.

“Richie continues to improve each time he is on the track. For a guy who has never ridden supercross until about a month ago, he has picked it up quickly and that was proven when he laid down the fastest lap in qualifying. He still needs to be able to maintain his race intensity for longer, but he is working hard on that but for the time being we have set goals of top 10 in each round and he is on track, so that is pleasing.”

Round three of the Australian Supercross Championship is on this weekend at Geelong in Victoria.