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DEAN WILSON
450 SX / A2
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / ECKERT DESIGN / WILSON
>> Jumping out to a mid-pack start in heat one, Dean Wilson’s Saturday night didn’t start with a spark as the young 450 rider was 12th after the first turn. To start lap two, Wilson had already made quick work to reach 8th place by getting around a downed Justin Bogle. Before long, tension up front heated quickly with Vince Friese ending the heat race for Jason Anderson and Marvin Musquin. As these mistakes began to separate the field, Wilson pulled forward wo more spots and found himself in 6th by the closing moments. With only the top four riders transferring into the main, Wilson couldn’t let up and continued his blitz till the end, ultimately running short on time and settling for 5th after getting around Vince Friese just before the checkered flag. In Semi #2, Wilson started well outside the top ten but utilized the first few laps to set a blistering pace and pick up eight positions in four laps. With two minutes to go, Wilson sat in 7th but after a few more turns of applying high pressure, Wilson got around Albertson for 6th a lap later. With less than half a minute to go, Wilson got around the #314 of Ray for the final transfer position and pulled away over the final two laps. Hoping to pick up where he left off
in the semi, Wilson ran into some misfortune off the start and ended up outside the top fifteen. Gaining some positions on the first lap just like the heat race, Wilson happened to settle into 12th behind Blake Baggett. On lap four, Baggett faltered and allowed Dean by for 11th but it didn’t last long as both Millsaps and Baggett got by the #15 a couple of laps later. Now in 13th, Dean was handed 12th after an accident forced Ken Roc- zen out of the race and with ten minutes left, Wilson sat two spots out- side the top ten. With another mistake by a top ten rider, Malcolm Stew- art, Dean then moved up another position to 11th a couple of laps later. Having just a few minutes left in the race, Wilson had a large enough lead on 12th place to finish in 11th and lock-in his best finish of the year.
74 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 22, 2017