Yamalube Yamaha Racing’s Jay Wilson was left marginally frustrated on Sunday afternoon at Appin after losing out to Jy Roberts in the opening MX2 moto of 2019.

Wilson was dominant through much of the lone 250 class outing this morning as rain spoiled the opening round of the Pirelli MX Nationals series.

Under the impression he was holding down a 22-second advantage in the closing laps, the current SX2 champion endured a difficult final two laps which ultimately enabled race one and overall winner Roberts to go by in his debut with Raceline KTM.

“I had two bad laps at the end,” Wilson admitted when contacted by MotoOnline.com.au. “From what I was gathering I had a 22-second lead and I was just trying to maintain it at that. I saw someone was behind me getting into it, so I let him go by because I thought he was a lap down…

“I gave the win away. It was a little bit of poor communication, but my mistake and that’s where it stood, so it cost me. We’re leaving on the podium though, so we’ll make up for it later in the year. I was trying to play it safe a little bit because on the second-last lap I got caught up down the back, so I was trying not to stress.

“It’s tough at Appin, but anyway, the whole race I was just trying to maintain the lead at 20 seconds. It is what it is, I let the lead go and here we are [laughs]. I should have been more aware, although with the riders being that dirty you don’t know who is where or who is doing what.”

Still, it was a positive start to the year for Wilson on the new generation YZ250F, scoring a strong haul of championship points and now focused on Wonthaggi’s second round due in a fortnight.

It appeared race officials were also confused by the fast-finishing Roberts’ move on Wilson during the final lap, not displaying the chequered flag to the teenager as he crossed the line first and a full 15 seconds ahead of long-time race leader Wilson.