Photo by: Hoppenworld
Looking down the pre-entry sheet of the 250SX Western Regional Supercross Championship in the 2014 Monster Energy Supercross season, many names stood out as possible Championship contenders, but one name stood out as the odds-on favorite: Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson. The fifth year professional won the 2011 250 AMA National Motocross Championship, had won six 250SX main events heading into 2014 and has been in the mix for a couple regional championships—including last year in the East before getting injured. In a class stacked with veterans and some very fast up-and-comers, Deano stood out for most as the man to beat in 2014 out West.
At the 2014 opener in Anaheim, Deano showed up and set the fastest lap in qualifying, but in the main event he was not able to put it together for a full fifteen laps. The #15 left Anaheim with a disappointing fourth, but with rumors flying about a pre-season crash and injury, most wrote it off as getting solid points under tough circumstances.
At the next two rounds, Wilson was once again blazing fast in qualifying—setting the second fastest laps at both rounds two and three—but again was unable to turn that speed into a podium finish. At the Phoenix SX, Deano would once again finish fourth, and at the Anaheim 2 SX, he crashed and finish seventh. Overall, Deano was showing he had the speed, but for whatever reason, the end goal of fifteen solid laps eluded him. With three races off the box and Cole Seely and Jason Anderson dominating up front, Wilson got off the plane in Oakland with a huge nineteen-point deficit in the Championship. In a seventeen race series, that’s a lot to make up, but in a short regional championship, nineteen points equates to “try again next year” most of the time.
So, with a huge deficit and the fans and media wondering what happened to the #15, Deano arrived in Oakland for round four ready to show he’s still in the game. In qualifying, Deano was the Deano of old, and all day long, he and Anderson went back and forth scoring the fastest lap time. While it was only for gate pick, you could tell Wilson was not going to be denied. Every time the #17 laid down the fastest lap, the #15 one-upped him. In the end, Deano clocked the fastest 250SX lap of the day, but even more impressive, he clocked the fastest lap of any size bike in Oakland. Deano was fast at every track, but there was something about the way he was doing it in Oakland that had me believing the Scottish-born Canada-to-California transplant would be able to do it in the main.
After winning his heat race, Deano grabbed the holeshot in the main event, but he was quickly passed by his teammate Justin Hill. Early in the main, Rockstar Energy Racing/KTM’s pushed Wilson back to third, and “Here we go again” popped into my head. This time, though, after surviving an early race attack from the red plate holder—Troy Lee Designs/Honda’s Cole Seely—Wilson went back after Anderson and Hill.
After five laps of staying glued to the #17 and #35, Wilson decided it was time and, on lap six, went from third to first. From there, Wilson used his speed to sprint out to a two-to-three second gap and held that gap until the white flag. Then, halfway through the final lap, something went terribly wrong. In the blink of an eye, that gap was erased, and so was the #15’s first win of 2014. Heading into the center lane triple, Deano’s bike had an issue which forced him to not do the triple and, with that, give up the lead with just a half of a lap to go. The bike did regain power and allow him to finish, but the serious damage was done. In the end, second was the best he and his bike could do, but they both showed that, if not for the little hiccup, they both were still capable of winning. In an SX world that was saying just last week that it might not be possible for Wilson in ’14, that’s a great realization to have moving forward.
When we walked up to the Pro Circuit pits after the main, Dean, his team manager Mitch Payton, and the whole crew were huddled around the bike trying having a meeting. After Deano broke away from the meeting, he answered a few questions for us. You can read the interview below.
Under the circumstances, I know you’re bummed with the second, but can you talk a little bit about your day?
Yeah, not the second place I was imagining. I mean, the race went good; I got the holeshot. I kind of got passed in the first section, but I was feeling good—got past the two guys in front of me, put in some solid laps, and the last lap, I went over the double before the triple and gassed it, but I had a little mechanical issue. It’s just unfortunate, but I just gotta stay positive, and we’ll move onto next weekend.
I saw you guys all huddled around the bike. Did you guys figure anything out or are you still working on that?
Nah, I think they’ll take a look at it when they get it back to the shop. Everybody’s pretty bummed. It’s just kind of a crappy situation. They’re definitely not making it easy on me. I’m just going to keep working hard and wherever it takes me is where it takes me.
Can you take us through your day a little. It was awesome watching you and Anderson going back and forth for the fastest lap all afternoon. You definitely had the speed today.
Yeah, I felt awesome all day. I felt really good. In practice I was fastest out of everybody, so that was pretty cool, and then the heat race went good. I felt good in that. Then in the main, I got the holeshot, lost a few spots, gathered myself and then made a push. That was definitely the old Deano, so that was cool. So I just need to stay positive, focus and move onto the next weekend.
You and Justin had a good battle there for a little bit. Did Justin surprise you at all tonight?
Ah, not really. I mean, I’ve seen Justin at the test track, and I know he goes fast, but I was definitely surprised with the little stuff I got. (laughs) That’s alright. We both kept it on two wheels, and we both got on the podium, so it was cool.
You took him a little high yourself later in the race. Was that a little bit of you showing him you can do it too? (laughs)
(laughs) Yeah, that was a little payback. Okay, you want to stuff me, I’ll pay it back. No, he’s a good kid. We get along good, so it’s good.
Heading into this week, a lot of talk was about your confidence possibly being rattled. Overall, while obviously disappointing with how it went down, did tonight at least show you you’re on the right track?
Yeah, for sure. I’m just not giving up, and I feel like I’ve overcome some issues that I had. I just need to stay focused and I’ll be good.
Well, thanks a lot for talking to us, and good luck moving forward.
Thank you.
