Jay Wilson consolidated his performance in Australia’s MX Nationals at the weekend taking 2nd Overall for Round 6 and moving into 1st holding the Red Plate in MX2 with 4 Rounds to go.
Jay, known in NZ for his diligent race craft in NZ’s MX Championship Series 2015, not only won many avid supporters across the ditch taking NZ’s MX2 Title this year but also cemented his successful working relationship with former Vice-World Champion 2x Josh Coppins.
Always approachable for comment, I caught up with Jay post gaining Series leader points at the weekend, asking him how has Australia’s MX Nationals gone so far, what has worked out well, and what is to look forward to?
SC: Solid weekend result taking 2nd in Round 6 and now holding the Red Plate in MX2- what were you particularly pleased with racing at Raymond Terrace this weekend?
Jay: ‘I think it was a smart ride. I did what I had to do and I came out with a solid result which was the goal. I’ve worked hard this year to be a more versatile rider and have the ability to adapt to varying conditions of all the tracks on the calendar. I know a few guys struggled at Raymond Terrace but it felt like just another track to me, so we were happy with that’.
SC: Under the watchful eye of Josh Coppins, how beneficial has this been working with Josh from the beginning of 2015 NZ MX Nationals through to Australia’s MX National Series?
Jay: ‘I’ve actually been lucky enough to have Josh in my corner over the last 3 years, and he has definitely become even more of a mentor to me over the last 12 months. You can’t really put into words how much value there is in having someone like Josh around. It’s hard to find someone you completely trust but knowing that Josh has been there and done it all before gives everything he says and every piece of advice so much more credibility’.
SC: Just coming off a 5 week break and having been based in NZ with Josh, has this strategy worked well for you, training in NZ to compete back home in Australia?
Jay: ‘Going over to NZ was the best thing I could of done in the break. Before I left I had a week off and then it was straight back into training with Josh. Being over there just gave me a bit of an opportunity to re-group, iron out a couple of things and work on the areas I needed to without any distractions. Out at Josh’s place you’re in your own little world, so it was nice to leave behind all of the hype of the Championship and just focus on riding and bettering myself for the second half of the Series’.
SC: The heat has died out of the 250 2-stroke vs 4 stroke debate- has the YZ250F performed as well as you expect both in NZ and Australia?
Jay: ‘Absolutely. We have a really good bike this year. Honestly the Yamaha YZ250F is awesome straight out of the box, but the race bike we have put together has worked for us both in NZ and now in Australia so we’re very happy with our set-up’.
SC: 2 new tracks coming up, plus Coolum, what will your focus be for the remainder of the Series?
Jay: ‘Right now for me it’s just about taking it Round by Round. It’s still a long season and there’s still plenty of races left until the last Round at Coolum. I’ve got good people behind me so we’re just going to keep working hard and focusing on getting some more good results’.
My thanks to Jay for his time.
Words: Sharon Cox
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