Multi time Australian champion and test rider for Yamaha in Japan, Jay Wilson, has been in the states working with the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team. While the team decided to let him race the last few rounds on Eli Tomac’s bike, Jay made sure to tell us he doesn't want to be considered a fill-in for Eli. He might be on Tomac's bike, but no one can really fill Eli's shoes!
The real work for Wilson is helping bring some of the knowledge from Yamaha Japan over to help test and develop with Yamaha over here. Racing is just a bonus!
Our film guy turned journalist, Tom Journet caught up with Jay to see what he thought of racing here in America for the first time.
Racer X: Alright, Jay Wilson, obviously, I'm assuming probably not the first one that you wanted, but tell me kind of what this whole deal is for you?
Jay Wilson: Yeah, obviously this is my first motocross here in America and a learning experience for sure. The Star Racing Monster Energy team has been very accommodating for me. Obviously, the first moto wasn't what I expected at all… I was in 40th, you know, laying in the bottom of a bike pile up. So that was a bit of a reality check, and the body was pretty sore, but we managed to get back to 23rd or something, so not ideal. And then second moto, I was so smoked, but it was good. I've learned a lot, learned a lot about the bike in these two motos racing. For me learning the motorcycle through the week, training and stuff can give good feedback, but there's nothing like racing. So, we've made a lot of changes throughout the day and just trying to get as much data and information as possible for these guys. For me, this is where I want to be for the future, you know. So, if I can gain as much information and knowledge while I'm here, it's, it's perfect. So overall it was, besides the result, it was a great day, you know, we're leaving here somewhat healthy and we'll go back to the farm this week and continue to develop and learn the bike. I jumped on this bike today this morning and went racing so, yeah, it was good, good day. [Note: Wilson told us most of his riding in the U.S. has been testing YZ250Fs for the squad.]
So, since this was your first time on the bike what were your thoughts on it?Yeah, I mean, it's a Star Racing Yamaha motorcycle, so it's pretty impressive. You know, these guys, they do a good job at developing this motorcycle. It's a great base for me to jump on and it's a new machine this year. So, it was it was really interesting to see what these guys are doing here in America compared to what I'm doing in Japan and even the European guys are doing. But if we can continue to work together, it's better for the future for Yamaha. And obviously I'm contracted to Yamaha in Japan and the more information and data that I can find, then it can only make the brand stronger in the future, and that's my goal. I've been with Yamaha for this is the 11th year now and, it's going strong and I'm passionate about the brand, but I've got a new challenge. You know, back in the day I always wanted to win races. But my challenge now is how can I make the best motorcycle possible? And how can we win championships? And, if I can't win that championship, I want to be a part of winning that championship. So we're heading in a good direction.
You're just doing the last three. Are there any of the three tracks that you're looking most forward to? Is it today or the next one's coming up?
No, to be honest, Unadilla is pretty iconic. A lot of the greats have been here and, and that's every time I was watching video on this, they always talked about how long the history behind this track is. So, it was pretty brutal, but I can tell you what that roost hurts here.
So, that was gnarly. But yeah, Motocross Nation's been at Budds Creek. I'm excited to go there and check that out and I haven't done any Motocross here in America. So, traveling the east coast and I've got my wife and daughter out here and my daughter is on summer break, so we're making a bit of a trip out of it. But obviously I've got a lot of work to do while we're here. So, it's just nice to have those guys out here and expectations are a little bit different these days and, we're enjoying it, so it's been great. So, thank you to everybody for having us out here.
