Australian Yamaha riders experienced success at opposite ends of the world over the weekend with Jay Wilson dominating round two of the All-Japan Motocross Championships in Tokyo while teenager, Tom Drane, took his maiden victory in the USA at the US Dirt Track Championships in California.
Forbes teenager Tom Drane, scored his first high profile main event win when he claimed victory at the Sacramento Mile event on his YZ450F. Drane left Australia at the beginning of the year after signing with the Estenson Yamaha Racing outfit and has been building in confidence as the year progresses.
The weekend saw him take his maiden victory in the US, winning the Singles division on his YZ450F by the narrowest of margins, in a hard-fought 18 lap main event. He started the weekend in a positive fashion taking the fastest qualifying lap and then was able to translate that speed into the main event that saw the take the win by .005 of a second in an all-out drag to the finish line.
Drane now sits in seventh place in the championship and desperate to claw himself higher up the championship table.
“It’s been a tough few months since I got here and being away from home, but its awesome to finally get a race win and show that I can race with these guys. I have had a few top-five finishes so far, but I came over here to win and it’s great for my confidence to not just win the race, but also qualify well and show that I can do it,” Drane comments.
As Drane was getting his first race win, Jay Wilson racked up his sixth race win of the 2023 season and dominated round two of the Japanese Motocross Championship at the Tokyo Off Road Village circuit.
After dominating round one and his first event in the IA1 (450cc) class, Wilson kept the momentum going at round two, taking another three race wins from three starts and continuing his impressive form.
The only blemish in a near perfect weekend from Wilson was when he shot off the track on the opening lap of race two after misreading the grip levels due to some rain and watering. He re-entered the track back in fifth place and worked his way to the front before the halfway stage.
Wilson has extended his lead in the championship after two rounds but is determined to keep the gas on as the rounds unfold in the future.
“Another great weekend for myself and the team with a Yamaha 1-2 in the IA2 class,” Wilson said. “My starts were good today and this track reminds me a lot of Moree back at home as the soil is similar and there are plenty of jumps here as well, so I felt right at home.
“It was awesome to get another win and keep the results coming. The new YZ450F is so good to ride and is so adaptable to so many tracks. We barely changed a thing since round one and it worked well all weekend,” Wilson added.
Round three of the championship moves to Miyagi on June 4.
