Jay Wilson creates Australian Motocross history
Fifteen year-old Jay Wilson has cemented his place in Australian folklore by becoming the country’s first ever World Champion in the discipline of Motocross when he captured the 85cc Junior Motocross title at the 2009 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship held in Taupo, New Zealand.
This was the first time Motorcycling Australia had ever sent a team to the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship, and Wilson claimed the 85cc Championship aboard his KTM after finishing first and third in the two Final races held at the Digger McEwen Motocross Park.
Fellow Aussie Dylan Long also managed to attain a podium position by finishing third overall, while French rider Dylan Ferrandis - who clocked the fastest qualifying time yesterday by over four seconds - was forced to withdraw from the competition after injuring his arm during the morning Practice session, throwing the race wide open for the remainder of the field.
Wilson blitzed the field in Race One, defeating Long into second place by over eight seconds, with Hayden Mellross completing an Aussie trifecta with third place a further eight seconds adrift.
Wilson finished third in Race Two behind Italian Samuele Bernadini and Holland’s Michaboy de Waal, which was enough to secure the Championship for the young New South Welshman who was completely lost for words as the fulfilment of a life-long dream had been realised.
“It’s amazing, I don’t know if this is real or not... I’m just speechless at the moment, I never thought I’d be here right now,” an ecstatic Wilson said.
“The whole weekend went great, I got a good start in the first Moto then in the second Moto the gate jumped a bit on me and I didn’t get the reaction time I wanted to.
“I got back up though, battled for first before crashing, and then managed to get back to third... and now here I am.”
Bernadini’s Race Two victory secured him second position on the podium, while Long finished Race Two in seventh position which enabled him to achieve third overall.
“It’s been a lot of fun being here in New Zealand,” Long said.
“I had a really good ride in the first [Moto] after a bad start, and then in the second race I got another bad start.
“I worked my way up a little bit before crashing twice, but overall I was really happy with my weekend,” Long concluded.
Mellross capped off a fine weekend of racing by finishing in fourth position, while Scott Mann and Luke Clout finished 9th and 10th respectively to give Australia five of the top ten placings.
Joel Dinsdale ended up in 19th spot while Dale Fear finished 21st despite a DNF in Race Two when he experienced bike issues which forced him to retire from the race.
Jarred Jeffcoat unfortunately suffered a knee injury from a fall late in Race One which ended his 2009 World Championship campaign, the youngster being forced out of both races.
Click here for full results from both classes at the 2009 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship.
All of the news, results, photo galleries, videos, interviews and more from the 2009 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship can be found on the Motorcycling Australia website at www.ma.org.au/2009worldjuniormx.
