DEAN WILSON - GRIT 237 450SX

DEAN WILSON | GRIT-237 | 450 SX

For the second week in a row, muddy conditions were set to be raced upon for the current SX championship. And with confidence, Dean Wilson would walk to the start straightaway (for the eventual, only practice session) ready to establish a tone that had to be acknowledged by the rest of his competitors. Rolling on the throttle as he seat-hopped the "SX" triple, he would skate around the following section of corners with the utmost focus before jumping across the line and setting a stellar series of lap times. This pattern wasn't deviated from for the heat race that followed, where he scored a position of twelfth, in the early going while never once seeming to worry about who was behind him. The expectations he placed on himself, were of the highest caliber - which made sense, as he jumped through the rhythm section after the whoop section on the third lap, while constantly keeping Justin Rodbell, at bay. The margin for error was extremely small, with the glass-like racing surface causing riders to slip and slide every which way...and a costly mistake always set to occur at a moment's notice. He wouldn't oblige to any sort of caution though, leaping over the double-single combination just after the finish line with authority, keeping the rear wheel spinning while trying to amass milliseconds when inching toward the white flag...and as the eventual checkered flag was thrown, he was registered in a hard-earned position of twelfth (after a mistake in the final moments). However, the veteran then ascended to the LCQ where he remained patient through the stressful sprint; garnering fourth, and taking the final position on the gate for the finalé. Though the process of making his way to the last race of the evening wasn't necessarily ideal, Wilson made sure to create a performance to be remembered under the lights in San Diego. Leaping from the line in the main event, he (like many others in the field) were doing their best to avoid roost while ducking their visor...feeling pellets of mud slap aboard their front number plate and roost guard. Though, he wasn't backing down, latching onto opponents such as Freddie Noren and Jett Lawrence before sliding his way through the finish line section. Puddles had amassed, but he splashed and kept the front end as light as possible...hopefully avoiding any sort of wash-out when diving into the tightest of bends near the start straightaway. Though KTM's Aaron Plessinger seemed to be in a pattern of his own at the front of the field, Honda's Wilson wasn't going to back down. Which as he pressed forward through the seventh, eighth, and ninth laps of action he knew that a final surge of sorts was paramount in capturing a top-ten accolade. The bike was heating at a rapid rate, and his mentality had been forced to work overtime on a track of this magnitude - but he ultimately was solidified in tenth, which rekindled memories of successful results in the past, where he had risen to the top of the classification a decade ago, in the 250cc classification; proving that Wilson still possessed elite level talent.

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