GRIT 312 — 450SX — 9th — Dean Wilson

Quite the technical landscape was on tap for athletes to compete across on Saturday. The circuit.in Denver was comprised of multiple whoop sections and a variety of challenging racing surfaces, including a sand area that was set to deteriorate throughout the afternoon hours. The veteran, Dean Wilson, was steadfast in his pursuit of strong lap times, however, and continued to exhibit a rhythm that was on par with the leaders of the division (i.e. the red-plate holder Ken Roczen, Hunter Lawrence, and other fellow veterans like Christian Craig. Amongst the switchback area, which was proximal to the SX triple, Wilson was able to lean his chassis with remarkable flow and velocity on numerous occasions. Despite everyone in the pack chasing the red plate holder, he knew that he could contest amongst the top ten by the night's end. In totality, his showing in practice was phenomenal. And this translated to a remarkable run in heat number one.Once there, athletes would unleash the full power of their respective motors onto the racing surface. While scrubbing his way over the finish line jump, he would be registered in a standing of thirteenth. From there an all out dash through the hard pack whoop section ensued. When blitzing atop the moguls, it was easy for the chassis to sway from side to side. However, with a coupling of brute strength and unwavering force forward, he would conquer the sections again and again. He had moved his way into tenth by the time the red flag was thrown. Upon restarting from the opening straightaway, Wilson immediately took advantage of the (now) condensed pack. The battles between he and opponents such as Kyle Chisholm, Cade Clason, and Shane McElrath were remarkable, though he wasn't fading as the checkered flag neared. Continuing to carve through the multitude of ruts across each berm, he would ultimately claim a final finish of seventh before exiting the raceway. Once into the main event, all on the starting line were eager to unleash their competitiveness. He would burst from the gate and immediately begin to upshift through the transmission. The sand was now unrecognizable compared to its previous state. He would transition from what was once a seated position to that of standing atop the foot pegs as he tried to float across each roller. He and various adversaries such as Christian Craig and Jordon Smith, were said to quarrel in the laps that followed as Wilson would slowly drift from tenth, to that of the thirteenth-place position on multiple occasions. He was anything but easygoing, however, and remained resilient while planting his chassis firmly amongst the various ninety and one-eighty degree turns around the course. The sections near the mechanics area were now extremely blue grooved. Therefore, he was careful where he would place the front tire and when to apply the front brake mechanism as well. These subtle nuances of his game plan would lead to significant margins and time gained near the checkered flag..as his positions of thirteenth and twelfth, would be significantly improved upon! He watched from afar, as Justin Cooper, Dylan Ferrandis, and Cooper Webb, had all undergone mistakes

- thus, with a calculated, veteran effort, the longtime competitor (i.e.

Wilson) would vault his way into ninth (ahead of the Frenchman) as the checkered flag was thrown!