Get To Know Yamaha’s Souya Nakajima

There was new name on the start line in the MX2 class at this year’s 2026 Australian ProMX Championship in Wonthaggi, with two-time Japanese IA2 champion Souya Nakajima lining up with the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Team. Nakajima, who landed in Australia back in February, has been hard at work getting accustomed to the team, the new environment and the Australian conditions. His mechanic Itou Masahiro joins him during his stint in Australia, and is a technician who’s worked for a variety of riders and teams around the world – including Jason Lawrence in the U.S. many years ago. The duo is basing themselves out of South-East Queensland, and prior to the season opener, Yamaha Australia caught up with Nakajima to find out more about the Japanese champ…

How did this trip to Australia come about, and how long has it been in the works for?
As part of my arrangement with YMC, if I won back-to-back IA2 championships (250cc), I was able to race in other parts of the world to continue my development as a rider. I won in 2024 and then again in 2025, so we were able to look at what options we had, and Australia seemed like the best fit. I ride with Jay Wilson a lot at home, and we also have a good relationship with YMA, so we decided to come to Australia. My team manager met with Scott Bishop at the Motocross of Nations in the US last year and we put something together that allows me to contest the entire ProMX championship. I’m excited to be here and looking forward to racing.

Is this your first trip to Australia, or have you had much international experience?
I came to Australia in 2018 and raced the World Junior Championships at Horsham. At that stage I was young and Yamaha Australia supplied me with a YZ125 to race. Takashi Katsuya reached out and was able to assist us as he was the only person I knew that had been to Australia. I have spent time in the US, training with Doug Dubach and also raced the Motocross of Nations for Japan. That was my first time racing an event that big and I was super nervous. I had a bike that Star Yamaha provided, and it was a lot different to mine, but I had a great time. I have also raced and spent time in New Zealand with Josh Coppins. The last two years I have ridden pre-season in New Zealand with Josh because Jay was there and we have been able to race some rounds of the NZ MX championships. Josh and his team have been great to me, and I liked riding in New Zealand

So, what made you decide on Australia?
New Zealand worked because I was racing in Japan and the series didn’t clash with ours, so I had time to race in NZ as part of my pre-season training, then return to Japan for our championship. This year, I was allowed to race a full series, and Australia works because the championship and the riders are at a good level and we think it is the best place for my development. I have watched the ProMX and it looks good on YouTube. The series is eight rounds where if I race in Europe or the US, it’s much more expensive, the rider level is maybe a bit above me plus the support from Yamaha Australia and the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Team here is great.

Where have you based yourself?
We have a Townhouse in Brisbane about 10 minutes away from the race team workshop. It’s pretty easy to get to most places and easy for Masa-san to get to work each day. There is a gym nearby and we have found a good Japanese place to eat, so we are happy.

What’s your expectations for the year?
It’s hard to say a position as I don’t know the riders very well and watching on YouTube is much different to real life. I have done a couple of days riding with my teammate Noah, and he is very fast. And I have also seen a couple of other 250 riders at the tracks I have been to. My goal is to start the championship in the top 10 and try and improve each round. I won’t have long to learn each track, but I will do my best and work hard between each round.

How does the bike you race at home compare to the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha YZ250F?
I rode my race bike last week to break it in and it’s fast. It’s a good bike and faster than what we race in Japan. The team here have done my suspension, and it feels good so I’m comfortable at the moment, now I just have to race at a ProMX track to see how it is while racing. The Australian bike is faster because there are things they can do to the bike here we can’t do in Japan, even something as simple as race fuel. The suspension is a bit softer here. In Japan, the speed is slow and there are a lot of rutty slow drop offs – we run suspension harder so the footpegs don’t get stuck in the ruts everywhere.