Jay Wilson: Australia's first MX world champion
Wins 85cc class in world juniorsWe’ve come close on a few occasions, as the likes of Jeff Leisk, Chad Reed and Andrew McFarlane will attest to.
But now the wait is over, and Australia finally has its first world motocross champion – albeit in the junior ranks.
That’s after 15-year-old Jay Wilson captured the 85cc class at last weekend’s Junior World Motocross Championship at Taupo in New Zealand.
“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.”
Wilson blitzed the field in the opening 11-lapper, with Dylan Long and Hayden Mellross completing an Aussie trifecta.
In race two, Italian Samuele Bernadini led home Holland’s Michaboy de Waal, with Wilson in third.
Bernadini finished second overall from Long.
The fastest qualifier, French rider Dylan Ferrandis, crashed in the Sunday morning warm-up and was forced to withdraw with an arm injury. Ferrandis had qualified a staggering 4.720secs ahead of second-placed Wilson.
In the 125cc class, Australian polesitter Tye Simmonds led from start to finish in race two, but the overall went to American wunderkind Eli Tomac with 1-2 results.
Simmonds was third in race one behind Tomac and local Hamish Dobbyn, but was restricted with the dreaded arm pump.
“I felt really good in race two” Simmonds said, “I didn’t get arm pump which helped out a lot, it meant I could focus on my own thing.
“I had a bit of a gap on Eli at the start, but he slowly wound me in over the whole moto. However, it was great just to ride my own race and he kept me honest which was great.
“I’m second in the world for Australia; I think we’ll take that for sure.”
Dobbyn was third overall from recently crowned Australian under 19 champion Luke Styke.
Australia won the Nations Trophy from Italy and New Zealand.
Click on the following link for full results in the 2009 Junior World Motocross Championship.
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