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DEAN WILSON
450 SX / A-1
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> The Dean Wilson saga in the offseason was a tough one to watch. A rider with so much talent and championships on his resume was left without a team. The injury bug has re- ally had its toll with the Scottish rider in the past three years and that certainly played a role in team’s decision making. Only nine finishes in the past three years is a huge asterisk. Wilson was ready to prove every one wrong heading into A1 as his dad built him an excellent Yamaha race machine and they packed into their Sprinter van. Wilson had a tough time with starts all night long and it started in his heat. He started outside of the top ten and could only inch up to eighth place. He got a slightly better start in the semi and it would result in a fourth place finish and a transfer onto the main event.
His starts did not improve in the main as he started in thir- teenth position. He quickly got around the downed Blake Baggett to hop into twelfth in the early stages. Things would then go south as he succumbed to the pressure from the RCH Suzuki boys Tickle and Bogle. He was able to hold Bo- gle off all the way to the end but just could not seal the deal. He would have to settle with the spot he started in, thirteenth. Not really the way he wanted to kick off the season but the performance was exceptional when taking into account he is on a full privateer effort.
78 GRITMOTO • JANUARY 9, 2017