JCR Yamaha’s Jay Wilson has finished the 2015 season in stunning fashion with a perfect round to secure the MX2 National Championship.
Story by Hayden Gregory
Despite wet conditions up in Coolum, the 250 class was treated with surprisingly good conditions. The day started with an indication of things to come with Jay Wilson setting the benchmark in warm up, recording the fastest lap time.
Wilson entered the round with a 21 point lead over Serco Yamaha’s Luke Clout and was determined to finish the championship on a high.
When the gates dropped for moto one, KTM’s Dylan Wills secured the holeshot before surrendering the lead early on to champion Wilson. The Yamaha rider’s intent was obvious as he incredibly moved away from the pack within the first three laps. Extending his lead, Wilson led for the rest of the 30-minute race, crossing in first place to secure maximum championship points.
A late surge by second placed Clout was not enough to catch Wilson but he did manage to keep his slim championship hopes alive for the final moto. Coolum local Nathan Crawford finished strongly to take out third place.
Heading into the second moto, Wilson needed to finish in 19th position or better to wrap up his first MX2 Championship. The result looked beyond doubt as the three leading racers from moto one – Wilson, Clout and Crawford, broke away from the pack. Only a bike length separated the three riders for the majority of the race before disaster struck leader Clout on the final straight.
The Serco Yamaha rider made a small mistake, crashing before the finish line, dropping a number of positions in the race standings. The mistake allowed Wilson to move into the race lead, securing a perfect round to go with his 2015 MX2 Championship title.
“This feels unbelievable, we have worked so hard to get this win, and a lot of people didn’t believe in me at the end of last year,” Wilson said.
“I have had Josh Coppins, my family, Mike Ward, Ray Howard and the top guys at Yamaha in my corner this year – they believed in me when no one else did.
“It has been a tough year, with my brother having that big crash at the start of the season, and honestly I was shattered, so to get this done for him too is pretty special.
“We’ve worked so hard, and to see it all pay off today is an absolute dream come true.”
Husqvarna’s Nathan Crawford was able to finish in second place, capping off a fantastic round whilst GYTR’s Jed Beaton stormed home to finish in third.
Despite losing a number of standings in the second moto, Clout was able to hold onto second place in the championship with veteran Takeshi Katsuya rounding out the 2015 podium.
Motul MX2 round ten overall points:
| 1st | Jay Wilson – 70 |
| 2nd | Nathan Crawford – 62 |
| 3rd | Jed Beaton – 56 |
| 4th | Caleb Ward – 56 |
| 5th | Luke Clout – 50 |
| 6th | Dean Porter – 49 |
| 7th | Geran Stapleton – 48 |
| 8th | Alex Morris – 43 |
| 9th | Ricky Latimer – 42 |
| 10th | Takeshi Katsuya – 41 |
Motul MX2 Championship:
| 1st | Jay Wilson – 600 |
| 2nd | Luke Clout – 559 |
| 3rd | Takeshi Katsuya – 541 |
| 4th | Jed Beaton – 499 |
| 5th | Caleb Ward – 473 |
| 6th | Nathan Crawford – 456 |
| 7th | Wade Hunter – 447 |
| 8th | Geran Stapleton – 403 |
| 9th | Dylan Wills – 388 |
| 10th | Jack Simpson – 354 |
