A fifth-place finish at Canberra’s second round of the 2021 Penrite ProMX Championship proved to be a critical points haul for Jesse Dobson, the Serco Yamaha rider putting in a courageous ride less than two weeks after undergoing collarbone surgery in a bid to keep his title hopes alive.

The Queensland-based contender broke his collarbone in a practice crash during the lead-up to Canberra, forcing him to wait until the opening lap of practice to determine if he could even race the pair of motos.

Dobson went 8-5 across the two outings for fifth overall, promoting him to third in the championship standings while positioning him just two points shy of second’s Rhys Budd (Yamalube Yamaha Racing).

“Going into the weekend, there was still a big question mark on if I could even ride a dirt bike,” Dobson told MotoOnline.com.au. On Monday I actually called a friend and was talking them – I told them I couldn’t even put my socks on.

“I didn’t know how the weekend was going to go, so with what I could salvage, it was really good. If I could ride, I wanted to be around the top five depending on the shoulder, but I was just taking it race by race.

“If I could only do one race, that’s better than not being on the start gate at all with the cards I’ve been dealt in the last two weeks. I managed to finish the whole day and move up one position in the points – now I’m only two points off second. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out.”

The number 14 sits 33 points behind series leader Kyle Webster (Honda Racing), who has gone undefeated across the first four motos of the season.