Popular Victorian Dylan Long says he feels fortunate to escape a DNF at Appin’s opening round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals yesterday in New South Wales with minimal damage to his points situation.

Rain-soaked conditions prompted event organisers to declare racing after just one moto, allowing Long to exit the weekend without severely damaging his chances of working his way into the higher portion of the standings this season.

The Empire Kawasaki talent, who was making his debut with the official Kawasaki outfit, was taken down in turn one of the MX1 outing, resulting in an injured elbow and leaving him unable to continue in the brutally muddy encounter. Optimistic the injury isn’t too serious, Long will undergo further medical evaluation this week.

“I got together with a few guys in the first corner, I unfortunately went down and hurt my elbow,” Long explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “I think it’s just a hyperextension – Racesafe want me to go get some x-rays to see how it is, but I personally think it’s not too bad.

“It is an elbow that I’ve hurt before, so that is a little bit worrying. We got pretty lucky there was only the one race – I think a few people would’ve had results they didn’t want being as muddy as what it was. I tried to get back out there and finish, but I’m lucky it was just the one race and not two where I could’ve lost a lot of points in.”

The conditions promoted a mixture of results amongst top contenders, playing into the favour of a select few while hampering a significant portion of the field. Todd Waters (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna) emerged victorious in heroic effort that saw him climb from last through to first.

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.

CDR Yamaha Monster Energy team owner Craig Dack has declared the right decision was made by Pirelli MX Nationals officials to cancel racing after the first round of motos at Appin’s opening stop in New South Wales today.

Continuous rain in the lead-up to this weekend’s opener and during today’s proceedings offered incredibly treacherous conditions, with riders lapping the Macarthur Motorcycle Club venue one-minute slower than last year’s event held in an adequate state.

While acknowledging the gritty sport that motocross is, Dack explained that there comes a point where the riders safety needs to be considered, with today’s shortened schedule satisfying him as the boss of the two top tier riders in Kirk Gibbs and Luke Clout.

“Last night we almost had three inches of rain, and I’m sure we’ve had nearly that today,” Dack told MotoOnline.com.au. “They really didn’t have any options – it was almost impossible to make a lap. I thought the decision they made in taking out Superpole and cutting practice and qualifying down – that was a good condition.

“Running the one moto was also a good decision – there’s a danger aspect to it. We know motocross should be rain, hail or shine, and it’s man and machine – we get that – but I think sometimes it gets to a point where it’s just nuts. All in all, I think the right decision was made.”

On debut with CDR Yamaha Monster Energy, Gibbs wound up third on the podium, while Clout finished in P8. The MX1 moto was captured by Todd Waters (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna) in a stunning return to Australian motocross.

Williams Event Management (WEM) has cancelled the opening round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals following the opening motos of each category at Appin’s Macarthur Motorcycle Club complex.

Unrelenting rain continues to lash the New South Wales venue, making for a treacherous start to the season and prompting the official decision.

“Obviously it’s a tough day, very, very wet,” WEM’s race promoter Kevin Williams told MotoOnline.com.au. “Everybody travelled a long way and wanted to get a race in, but it’s an expensive sport as it is and the conditions are getting worse.

“This way, everybody gets a moto in and the championship gets underway, but we’ve had to make this decision following the opening motos today. We already had to cancel the YZ65 Cup this morning, but unfortunately this is how it’s turned out.”

The opening round of the season went to Raceline KTM Thor’s Jy Roberts in MX2, while Maximus Purvis (WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha) topped MXD and a gritty Todd Waters (DPH Motorsport) won the lone MX1 outing of the weekend this morning.