Round two of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals is upon us, set to be staged at Wonthaggi in Victoria this weekend. This is Motoview on MotoOnline.com.au, presented by Thor MX Australia.

Wow, two weeks have gone by pretty quickly, and the second stop of the MX Nationals is already here! I think I speak for everyone that endured Appin’s mudder when I say we’re hoping for better conditions this weekend, and I’m quite optimistic we will despite the forecast predicting showers in the coming days – although it’s definitely not at the level of rain that fell down for the opener.

I think with the treacherous conditions that unfolded at Appin, this weekend is kind of feeling like the first round with a great sense of excitement and anticipation. There are still so many unknowns of where riders are at and who is strong in normal conditions, as Appin did throw up a few surprises on the results sheets.

I know I touched on it last week – the brewing Todd Waters (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna) and Hayden Mellross (Raceline KTM Thor) rivalry -but I’m bringing it up again. It obviously started at round one with the whole track infringement saga – you can read stories on both riders about it here and here.

Anyway, the duo faced off again last weekend at Maitland’s second round of the East Coast MX series, where they traded race wins in the four outings, ending up with two victories and two runner-ups each – Waters was granted the overall on count-back. What this indicates is the duo are competitive with each other in traditional conditions, and I’m pretty damn excited to see them battle it out this Sunday.

In other news, I caught with Dylan Long today to get an update on his condition ahead of the weekend, where he unfortunately confirmed he’ll be sitting on the sidelines.

Long is such an exciting talent on the MX Nationals circuit, and it’s a bummer to see him struck by injury again. He goes into detail on the injury in the news story we posted today, but you can check out his elbow getting all sorts of funky in this Instagram photo he published.

It’s also disappointing for his team, Empire Kawasaki, who are in their first year of being Kawasaki’s official team in the MX Nationals. It’s understood they’ve drafted in a replacement to fulfil his role for the time being, which could extend beyond this weekend.

The team has posted a teaser of who the rider is, albeit blacked out – however, the image is actually one shot by Foremost Media at last year’s Port Adelaide supercross – the rider being Lawson Bopping.

While we’re yet to receive confirmation that is in fact Boppo who will jump on the KX450, it does make sense – he’s one of just a few capable riders available that can produce respectable results despite minimal preparation. We’re expecting an official announcement in the next day or two, and if it is Bopping as speculated, then he’s a welcomed addition the premier class.

That’s it for this week, we’ll catch you next Wednesday with another Motoview presented by Thor MX Australia feature! In the meantime stay tuned to MotoOnline.com.au for the latest daily content and be sure to follow us on social media via @motoonline on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.