Jay Wilson Lifts 2023 JMX IA1 title with 17 Consecutive Moto Wins

October 9, 2023—On Sunday, October 8, 2023, at HSR Kyushu in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, Jay Wilson, who is competing in JMX's premier IA1 class for the Yamaha Factory Innovation Team on a YZ450FM, won both motos and secured the 2023 title, continuing a string of 17 moto wins in the process. It is Wilson’s second year in a row to lift the championship laurels after winning the IA2 title in 2022. This is also Yamaha's second consecutive IA1 title after Toshiki Tomita won it in 2022.

For the 2023 season, Wilson moved up to IA1, Japan's premier class of motocross racing on 450 machines, as both a manager and rider for the Yamaha Factory Innovation Team. He is competing aboard the YZ450FM, which is based on the fully revised 2023 YZ450F.

In the opening round of the season, he took the holeshot and rode uncontested to his debut win in the class, then followed it up with a streak of victories against the top Japanese riders to eventually rack up 15 consecutive wins in from 15 motos over six events. He came into Round 7, HSR Kyushu, with a 146-point lead over 2nd-placed Yamaha Factory Racing Team rider Toshiki Tomita.

At the HSR Kyushu event, rain fell and the conditions were unfortunately muddy. Wilson suffered a crash during timed qualifying, but it was not serious and he was able to participate in the motos. He rode with a large gap at the front in the first moto to take the win and put one hand on the trophy. He then repeated his performance in the second moto to clinch the title while also keeping his winning streak going. He was crowned 2023 IA1 champion with his 17th consecutive win so far for the season. In the IA-OPEN moto that took place after Moto 2, Wilson extended his string of victories to 18 for the season so far.

Jay Wilson
“Just like I normally do, I focused on the race ahead of me, but I ended up crashing in qualifying, and that made the whole weekend more challenging. Thanks to the support of the team and my family though, I managed to get through it. Winning the title is a great moment for me and also a big win for my family who left our home in Australia to come to Japan. I’m very happy because last year I won the title on a YZ250F and this year it was a new and bigger challenge competing on the YZ450FM. It’s also special because by winning the title, we proved the potential of the YZ450FM, which is based on the YZ450F that came out this year. Though we won the title here at this round, the season isn’t over yet. I’m going to keep trying hard to win, and also to be a target for Japanese riders and to help motocross grow in Japan. I want to say thank you everyone for the amazing support so far, and I’ll see you at the track!”