Yuki Okamoto Wins Career First JSB1000 Title

October 28, 2024 – On Sunday, October 27, 2024, Round 8 of the All Japan Road Race Championship, the MFJ Grand Prix, was held at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture. Yamaha Factory Racing Team rider Yuki Okamoto, competing in the JSB1000 class aboard a YZF-R1, finished 2nd in Race 1 and 3rd in Race 2, winning his first title in JSB1000, Japan’s premier class of road racing.

This was Yamaha’s seventh consecutive JSB1000 title since the streak began in 2018 (Okamoto one win, Katsuyuki Nakasuga five wins, Kohta Nozane one win).

This season, Okamoto and teammate Nakasuga were locked in a hard-fought battle for the title, something not seen recently in the series. In the first half of the season, Nakasuga built a considerable lead by winning the first four races, but in the second half, Okamoto retook it by winning three. Coming into the final round, the MFJ Grand Prix, Okamoto was trailing Nakasuga by just four points.

Race 1 saw that gap erased as the two became tied for the championship lead. At that point, not only were they tied, but they were also fully even in the standings with four wins, three second places and three third places each.

In Race 2, Okamoto and Nakasuga got into a four bike battle that included two rival machines. After having the safety car on track and subsequent race re-start, Nakasuga crashed and had to retire from the race. Meanwhile, Okamoto rode against his rivals to take a 3rd place finish at the checkered flag.

As a result, Yuki Okamoto won his first title in the premier JSB1000 class in his third year competing, making it a total of three All Japan titles in his career, following two ST600 title wins in 2018 and 2020.

Yuki Okamoto
“This has been a great season for me, to be able to stand on the podium in every race and win the title in the end. I think a major reason is that I’ve gotten more comfortable on the R1, and with communicating to the team exactly what I need from the bike. It’s also helped that I could set the fastest time in a lot of sessions this season, including in the pre-season tests.
Also, my teammate Nakasuga has been able to set fast times when the tires have less grip. This year I’ve tried to focus on that aspect of my riding, and I think I’ve gotten better at it.
I was disappointed not to be able to take the checkers with Nakasuga in the final race, but I’m happy I was able to win against him while he’s strong. I also have to say thank you to everyone for all the cheers and support!”

Team Manager Wataru Yoshikawa
“Okamoto has shown impressive growth, especially in the second half of the season. He took the things he learned from Nakasuga and made them part of his own skillset, which is a big factor. He was able to correct the bad parts of his riding and improve on the good parts he already had.
I saw a change in the way he thinks about racing, and one of the factors that made him stronger was that he was able to set faster times right from the start of races, and in the pre-event sessions as well. He lifted the title in the final race of the season, and I hope he can put this valuable experience to use in his future racing endeavors.”

Yuki Okamoto’s 2024 Season Results