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DEAN WILSON
450 SX / TEXAS
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Dean Wilson initially came into 2017 with a firm plan to race the first five Monster Energy Supercross rounds as a privateer Yamaha rider. He loaded up a sprinter van with his Dad and the two of them set off around the west coast, living the American dream. Wilson set his sights on the top ten for the opening rounds, narrowly missing out on that goal throughout the first four races. The Scottish Canadian finally earned his tenth place finish last weekend in Oakland, but it was the events that transpired during the week that truly pumped him up. The announcement of Christophe Pourcel’s retirement from SX opened up a spot on the Rockstar Husqvarna team, and Deano had put in the consistent results to earn the ride. He seemed to gel with the new bike right away at Oakland, running upfront in practice without wasting anytime. Wilson feels as though he’s worked harder than any other point in his career to earn his place on the team, and he’s incredibly grateful to have the opportunity. The newly acquired Rockstar Husqvar- na rider carried the freshly accumulated momentum into practice at Arlington as he came out with the seventh fastest time heading into the heats. Wilson put together a fairly decent start in the second 450 heat race as he exited the first corner safely inside the top ten. The Rockstar Husqvarna rider came across the line in seventh position as he started the first flying lap. Deano kept to himself throughout the first half of the race, keeping pace with Trey Canard as he held firm in seventh position. At the halfway point, he came under pressure from Yamaha’s Cooper Webb as the North Carolina native battled back from a first lap spill. Wilson lost the position to the Yamaha rider, but managed to move up to sixth after an incident involving Jason Anderson and Malcolm Stewart. He continued consistently on his Rockstar Husqvarna and grabbed the checkered flag in sixth position, therefore sending him to the semi. Wilson sped out to a solid top five start in his semi qualifier as he confidently set his sights on the main event. It only took a couple of laps for him to make his way into third position around the Smartop MotoConcept’s rider of Vince Friese, firmly holding onto the transfer position for the remainder of the race. Things got off to a decent start in the main event as Deano put his Rockstar Husqvarna inside the top ten throughout the opening lap of mayhem. He quickly replicated the move from the semi as he forced his way past Friese in practically an instant, promoting him to eighth position behind his Red Bull KTM replacement, Trey Canard. Wilson shadowed the Oklahoman for a number of laps, eventually taking advantage of
a mistake that allowed him to advance one position. Just after a quarter of the race distance elapsed, things began to go haywire at the front of the field -- within the span of merely two laps, Wilson was
able to leapfrog into fourth position due to the misfortune of Tomac, Webb, and Bogle. From that point forward, he put in one of the most impressive performances of his 450SX class career as he kept the defending Champ at bay for more than half the race. On the twenty-first lap, he was forced to concede to a voraciously executed pass by Dungey, relegating him back to fifth position. Wilson held on for the best finish of his premier class career as he joined his teammate in the top five. Deano will have to temper his expectations as the series heads east, but the top five finish will surely do wonders for his confidence as he gets more and more comfortable on the new bike.
18 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 12, 2017