WILSON IN THE ZONE | Bikesportnz

With three round wins from three rounds entered, Australia’s Jay Wilson is well on target to becoming a New Zealand champion once again.

The Altherm JCR Yamaha Racing Team rider won the New Zealand Supercross Championship in the 250cc class late last year and now he’s in line to collect the silverware for winning the 2015 MX2 motocross crown as well.

The 20-year-old from Tweed Heads, near Coolangatta on the Gold Coast, took his YZ250F bike to finish 1-3-3 at the opening event of the four-round New Zealand Motocross Championships in Taranaki last month, winning the day narrowly from Amberley’s Micah McGoldrick (Timaru Honda CRF250).

But since then Wilson has been unstoppable as he won all three races at round two near Timaru and then produced a similarly impressive hat-trick of wins at the third round near Rotorua on Sunday.

Wilson now enjoys a 37-point advantage over runner-up man Hamish Harwood (CMR Red Bull KTM), from Takaka, meaning he has more than an entire race up his sleeve as he heads to the fourth and final round of the series at Pukekohe this coming Sunday.

Wilson is clearly dominant in this class, with seven wins out of nine starts in the MX2 class, and a sensible ride at the Pukekohe finale will be enough to wrap it all up.

“I was three seconds faster than everyone else in qualifying today and that’s despite the fact this was the first time I’d raced at this track,” said an elated Wilson afterwards.

“I’ve got a race up my sleeve but I’m not counting my chickens yet. I have raced at Pukekohe in the past and I like it there, so I don’t anticipate any problems next weekend.”

Meanwhile, in the MX1 class, Mount Maunganui’s Cody Cooper (The Honda Shop Racing Team CRF450), the defending MX1 class champion, started the day with a three-point lead over his nearest rival, Rotorua’s John Phillips (The Honda Shop Racing Team CRF450), but was celebrating a 19-point lead over the new main challenger, Australian Kirk Gibbs (KTM Australia), at the end of the day.

Altherm JCR Yamaha Racing Team rider Kade Mosig, a late call-up to the squad to replace injured fellow Australian Jacob Wright, is now fourth in the standings, just 15 points behind Phillips, the rider in third position overall.

Altherm JCR Yamaha Racing Team boss Josh Coppins, of Motueka, said Wilson’s results were just what he needed with his racing the Kiwi series an important part of his build-up and preparation for the upcoming Australian Motocross Championships.

“Jay is riding great,” said Coppins.

“It is good reward for all the hard work he’s putting in during the week. We’ll give him an easy time this week but he’s got to remain focussed.”

The fourth and final round of the JT Racing-sponsored series is set for Harrisville, on the outskirts of Pukekohe, next weekend.

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