Image: Foremost Media.

Honda Racing’s Wilson Todd returned to the MX1 class podium for Canberra’s sixth round of Penrite ProMX, with a third-place performance a major milestone for the Queenslander following a string of injuries that have impacted his career over the past 12 months.

After qualifying second, Todd raced to a well-earned 4-2 moto scorecard at the Fairbairn Park circuit, sharing the podium with points leader Jed Beaton (Monster Energy CDR Yamaha) and KTM Racing Team’s Nathan Crawford in what was his first national podium finish in almost two years.

A sequence of injuries has had a major impact on the trajectory of his career, dating back to the beginning of last year, with the 27-year-old only now starting to regain both the fitness and the feeling required to fight towards the front of the field.

“This result means a lot, after being off for so long, you can’t help but have the doubts creep into your mind on whether you can still put a whole weekend together and get two solid results,” Todd told MotoOnline. “In the past, it all came so easily to me, but that confidence then got taken away, and it’s hard to turn that around.

“I always had that belief that as long as I was fit and healthy, I could go as fast as anyone. Even now, I only feel like I’m lacking in strength and fitness. But after all those injuries, it’s just hard to want to keep doing it, especially with all the other aspects of racing, when it comes to the pressure and anxiety.

“It’s unreal for me that the Honda Racing team has stuck by me, but it takes a mental toll knowing they invest so much in you, but you haven’t delivered anything to them. Getting beaten by people I shouldn’t be because I’m not fully ready, that pressure builds up over time, which is why it’s great to give something back.”

Always a rider prone to speculation between whether he will be on 250 or 450 machinery moving forward, Todd revealed that he’ll race SX2 in supercross, with his future in motocross an ongoing relationship between both what he and the team require.

“I really don’t mind what I do, I guess,” he continued. “Some people are set on either a 450 or a 250, where I’ll do whatever fits right at the time, and wherever that is, I’m not sure yet.”