Jay Wilson Wins Back-to-Back IA1 Titles: Third in a Row for Yamaha

October 1, 2024—On Sunday, September 29, 2024, Yamaha Factory Innovation Team rider Jay Wilson competed in the IA1 class at Round 7 of the All Japan Motocross Championship, the TOKIO INKARAMI Super Motocross event, held at Off Road Village in Saitama Prefecture, where he took 2nd place in the second moto aboard his YZ450FM to secure the 2024 title.

Wilson has now won three titles in a row: IA2 in 2022, IA1 in 2023, and IA1 in 2024. This is also Yamaha’s third consecutive IA1 title starting with Toshiki Tomita’s 2022 title win.

Last season, Wilson won his first IA1 title by taking 22 wins from 23 motos across nine rounds while serving as team manager, rider, and riding coach for the bLU cRU. He started the 2024 season with the twin goals of increasing his contributions to the bLU cRU program and also winning his second consecutive IA1 title. His season began with a strong run of results as he won the opening five motos in succession to widen the points gap over his rivals.

At Round 3, his momentum slowed with a 3rd/9th in muddy conditions at HSR Kyushu in Kumamoto Prefecture, but he went on to win three motos in a row at Round 4 at Sugo in Miyagi Prefecture. He took the overall win at Round 5 in Hokkaido with a 1st/4th, finishing the first half of the season with a 71-point lead over 2nd-place title contender, Honda rider Haruki Yokoyama.

In the second half of the season, Wilson began by trading first and second places with Yokoyama at the Kinki event in Nara Prefecture, coming into Round 7 with a 71-point lead. He won Moto 1 to put one hand on the trophy, before a 2nd place finish in Moto 2 secured the 2024 title. In Moto 3 that followed, he took another 2nd place finish to bring his season total to 11 wins, three 2nd places and one 3rd place finish, for a total of 15 podium finishes on his way to a repeat IA1 title.

Jay Wilson
“Every season so far has had its own story, but winning titles three years in a row has been really tough, and it’s all thanks to the whole team and staff who supported me with constant hard work and professionalism. I’m so proud of their attitude, and I have to say thank you to them from the bottom of my heart.
“This year, the level in All-Japan has gotten higher, and there are more races now that I can’t win. That has led to some big challenges to overcome, which we’ve worked on during race weekends and outside them as well, both as a team and myself as an individual. One clear example is that I’ve upped the amount of training I do. For me, this has been the most difficult season so far, which is why I’m very happy to win the title. At the same time though, I do think all the hardships have helped me grow both physically and mentally. There’s still one round to go at Sugo and I’ll keep pushing to win, so I’ll be counting on everyone’s support!”

Team Manager Nobuo Hara
“This season, Yokoyama and Alonso started competing, so the overall level in IA1 has gotten higher. This put pressure on Jay and on the team as a whole, and we were in a difficult situation, but Jay won the IA1 title for the second year in a row, and Yamaha for the third year in a row. It was because we overcame those challenges together that we’re so happy about winning this year.
“Also, as a manufacturer, we’ve been developing our bike in cooperation with our group companies outside Japan and tackling new challenges. It’s been a good season because our riders have been pushing, and we’ve gotten strong results with our machine. I should also mention that Jay has been doing a great job as a rider coach for our younger riders, and as Nakajima, Asai, Tanaka and others continue to get stronger, I can say that we’ve shown strong value not just with machine development and our title wins, but with our young rider training as well. Finally, I want to say thank you to all of our fans and sponsors, and I’d like to ask for everyone’s continued support as we go into the final round and go for the win.”

Jay Wilson 2024 Season Results