The 90 Racing Motocross Club ran a 13 round championship in 2020 and coming out of the series on top in the Auto class was 8-year-old Jay-J Cooper who joins our Winners Circle.
Action Images courtesy of Deka Davison
Jay-J has loved motocross from an early age, riding from when he was three years old. The Ashington based little ripper had a successful first year of racing in 2019 finishing 3rd overall in the North MXC Championship and qualifying through to the A group at a stacked MX Master Kids in the same year.
As well as his 90 Racing success in 2020 he also raced at Duns with Scot MX in the Scottish Nationals winning all five moto’s as well as finishing third in this year’s Northern Team Challenge.
Back to his 90 Racing title campaign; against his fellow club members, he was only defeated at one round being victorious in 12 of the 13 with a stunning display of style and determination from the youngster on his KTM SX 50.
The 90 MXC season started at Iron Works with Jay-J making some fantastic starts with three solid seconds before they headed to PJMX for the next two rounds where a race one crash apart, (from which he battled back to fourth) he notched a holeshot in each race taking the overall victory on both days.
The fantastic Haverigg circuit was the destination for rounds four and five and on a track that roughed up, he battled hard with his Scottish friend Ricky Barrrick for the win.
A super wet Dalton followed which was a case of survival of the fittest and Jay-J showed he has the staying power by grinding out a full set of six moto wins. The new layout at Fatcat Motoparc proved a challenge and struggling with his starts he had to dig deep to get the points. In moto one he got wiped out but fought his way back to duke it out with Barrack again for third, with some epic duals over the weekend with Hunter Knapton too.
It was back to Iron Works for the tenth and eleventh round of the series, and with the pace hot all-day on Saturday it was Harry Hall who would be the top gun, but the weather changed for the Sunday and challenging conditions made it tough on everyone. Jay-J fought hard all day having some great races with his title rival Freddie Box.
The championship came to its conclusion at a damp Dalton where Jay-J was on a mission, putting the hammer down to win all six races by a big margin over the weekend claiming the title in the process by 22 points over Box.
We talked to Jay-J about his title-winning season…
DH: What were your goals leading up to the championship?
Jay-J: My aim was to finish in the top three
DH: What were your favourite and least favourite tracks in the series?
Jay-J: My favourite tracks were PJMX & Dalton, my least favourite is none I love them all haha…
DH: What was your best round of the championship and why?
Jay-J: My best rounds of the series was 2 & 3 at PJMX because it’s my home track. I took the overall both days and had holeshots in every race.
DH: What was your worst round of the series and why?
Jay-J: My worst round was round 11 at Iron Works. It was tough track conditions due to bad weather and poor bike set up.
DH: Who were your biggest rivals in the series?
Jay-J: My rivals were Harry Hall & Freddie Box
DH: How do you feel to win the championship?
Jay-J: Very Very Happy
DH: Who would you like to thank for their support?
Jay-J: I would like to thank STS Off-road racing (Markie, Dave&Ash) who has
supported me from day one. Gbmx Race Suspension, my coach Josh Spinks, J&N Roofing & Cladding, Mellys, and Deka & Julian that have taken some fantastic pictures of me this season. Also the whole of the 90 Racing club for all their hard work and getting us behind the
gate this season. Last but not least My Mam, Dad and my family that has always supported me.
DH: What are your plans for 2021?
Jay-J: My plan for 2021 is-
Compete in the British Youth Nationals
90 Racing MXC, defend the championship
Race the Scottish nationals for Scot Mx
Race last year on the Auto
Congratulations Jay-J and we look forward to following your progress in 2021.
