MXA INTERVIEW: DEAN WILSON HAS BEEN FIGHTING IN THE TRENCHES

A young Dean Wilson when he lived in Canada. Photo credit: David Pinkman

BY JIM KIMBALL

DEAN, IT’S WELL KNOWN THAT YOU WERE BORN IN SCOTLAND. WAS THAT WHERE YOU FIRST RODE A DIRT BIKE? Yes, I started riding at 3 years old on a 50 while living in Scotland. Later, I got on a 60 and rode that until I was 8 years old. I rode a lot back then with my dad, and those were great times. Then, my family moved from Scotland to Calgary, Canada. So, I only lived in Scotland for a little bit of my childhood.

WAS YOUR DAD A GOOD RIDER? I would not say he was great [laughing]. Maybe he was intermediate level, but he just loved riding. As I mentioned, he got me my first bike when I was 3 years old, and we would ride every weekend. We moved to Canada due to my dad’s work and continued riding for fun. Once I started racing motocross and was getting better, I started taking it more seriously. 

WHAT WAS RACING IN CANADA LIKE?  It was cold, so we started coming to California in the winter to ride. That is when I really started to improve. I was winning pretty much everything in Canada and was typically top five in America. I got picked up by Team Green when I was 14. The Team Green program was my first real ride. That is when we started taking it more seriously, and, as a family, we tried to see where it was going to take us.

AT WHAT POINT DID YOUR PARENTS DECIDE TO MOVE TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO PURSUE MOTOCROSS? That is exactly what we did when I got my Team Green ride. It was a big move and a big risk not knowing what the future held. But, my family put it on the line, and we chased the dream. When I was 17 and was in the Amateur A class, that was a big deciding factor if I was going to do this for a living or not. I ended up getting picked up by Mitch Payton and the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki Team, and the rest is history.  

“I WAS WINNING PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING IN CANADA AND WAS TYPICALLY TOP FIVE IN AMERICA. I GOT PICKED UP BY TEAM GREEN WHEN I WAS 14. THE TEAM GREEN PROGRAM WAS MY FIRST REAL RIDE.”

HOW WELL DID YOU DO IN YOUR AMATEUR DAYS?  I was not the most dominant guy as an Amateur, but I started putting it together in my last two years. In my last year as an Amateur, I completely dominated. It was huge for me to get that ride from Mitch Payton and show him that I could win. I was winning at the right time but was certainly not the most dominant Amateur when I was younger.

WHEN AND WHERE WAS YOUR PRO DEBUT? My debut as a Pro was at the 2010 Indianapolis Supercross. I ran the 250 East Coast series that year. I hadn’t turned Pro after Loretta Lynn’s in 2009, as Indy was my big day.  

DID YOUR EMOTIONS RUN WILD AT YOUR FIRST PRO SUPERCROSS? The whole weekend was cool. It was a dream come true! I was riding for the team that I always wanted to ride for. It was everything coming to fruition, and I tried to make the most of the opportunity. It was amazing to make that happen. 

YOU HAD THAT SAME HAPPY PERSONALITY THAT I SAW IN A YOUNG TRAVIS PASTRANA. DID YOU WORK ON THAT? That was just my approach. Keeping loose is what makes me ride well. I try to be in a good head space. That is half the battle. Being super serious on race day works the opposite for me and makes me ride tight. If I’m riding tight, I get arm pump. You want to be loose, and that is key for me. Of course, it’s not always easy.

HOW DID 2010 GO FOR YOU? The year started off well, but I got stuck in Canada because my visa was not complete. I missed two rounds, which was painful because I was third in the championship and it was just my rookie year. I still finished the Supercross season strong and got two podiums. Then, I went into the outdoors and almost won my second outdoor race ever! Later, I ended up winning at Budd’s Creek, which was my first ever outdoor win! I also won the last round, so I won two races in my rookie Pro season. If I could turn back time, I could have been in championship contention to win that year if I could have just not made the normal rookie mistakes. 

Obviously, that happens in your debut Pro season. I ended up being AMA Supercross Rookie of the Year in 2010, which was great. In  2011 I battled Justin Barcia for the 250 East Supercross Championship but ended up getting second. When the 2011 AMA 250 motocross series came around, I ended up winning the National Championship. All in all, my first two years were very strong.

Dean got a KTM factory ride for the 450 class in 2015, but got injured right away.

IN 2012 YOU GOT A SHOULDER INJURY THAT SIDELINED YOU FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. ALSO, YOU WERE LOOKING TO MOVE UP TO THE 450 CLASS FOR 2013. 2012 started out well and was in contention for the 250 West Supercross Championship. I was excited to run the number-one plate outdoors and was looking forward to moving up to the 450 class the following year. Everything was looking good until I crashed hard and injured my shoulder. 

I tried to race the Hangtown National but was in too much pain. That was the beginning of some difficult times. I couldn’t defend my AMA 250 National Motocross Championship. I couldn’t even watch the races; I was so discouraged.

WORSE YET, YOU HAD SIGNED A LUCRATIVE 450 DEAL WITH THE JEFF WARD TEAM FOR 2013, BUT THAT TEAM FOLDED. Yes, Jeff Ward Racing had a team, and I signed with them, as they were racing Kawasakis and the money was good. I was getting too big for the KX250 and wanted to go to the 450. I was told a bunch of things, and I signed the deal. It was a lot of money, and I was promised so much. Long story short, two weeks in, the team collapsed. 

I also had offers from Red Bull KTM at that point from Roger DeCoster, as well as an offer from Joe Gibbs Racing. So, I had some good offers, but I had turned them down to race with Jeff Ward. 

“THE RIDES THAT I HAD ON CHAD’S BIKE WERE ESSENTIALLY WHAT GOT ME A FACTORY KTM RIDE THE NEXT YEAR. RIDING CHAD’S BIKE GOT ME A TWO-YEAR 450 DEAL WITH RED BULL KTM AT THE END OF SUPERCROSS, SO IT WAS COOL TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN AND MOVE TO THE 450 CLASS.”

WHAT DID YOU DO TO SAVE THE 2013 SEASON? I went back to Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki, thanks to Mitch, and raced the 250 Supercross East Coast Championship. I have always had a good relationship with Mitch. He always wanted the best for me. He was always hard on me, which is how it was growing up with my dad. Mitch is one of those guys who says it the way it is. I like that. I prefer being told the truth whether it hurts you or not. Mitch always had my back, even when I was not on his team. I will always have a lot of love and respect for Mitch.

WHEN DID YOU ACTUALLY FIRST RACE A 450? That was in 2014 when Chad Reed got hurt and he needed someone to fill in for him for a few rounds. It went well. The rides that I had on Chad’s bike were essentially what got me a factory KTM ride the next year. Riding Chad’s bike got me a two-year 450 deal with Red Bull KTM at the end of Supercross, so it was cool to make that happen and move to the 450 class.  

HOW DID THINGS BEGIN AT RED BULL KTM? It started out well. I was just doing my own thing. I had my own program and it was fine. Aldon Baker may have been working with Ryan Dungey then but was not full-time with the KTM group. Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin were my teammates.

DO YOU THINK THAT YOU MOVED UP TO THE 450 CLASS TOO SOON? No, I moved up at the right time. I moved up at the time that was right for me. I had an offer from the best 450 team at the time. I made the right decision to join Red Bull KTM, but unfortunately, I did three races and blew my knee out. I was sidelined for the year. The following year I did three or four races and blew my knee out again, so I did not get to do anything. That was pretty much it at Red Bull KTM. I never even got to show what I had. I was good at the test track and had some good practice days, but I never got to race. I feel like those years were just a scratch for me. 

DID YOU KNOW YOUR TIME AT RED BULL KTM WAS COMING TO AN END? Yes, but I was not able to do anything in either year because I was injured. Towards the end of my contract, I had a meeting with Roger and Ian, and they said, “You have raced eight races out of 65.” They had my results, and it was easy to see it on paper. It was a tough pill to swallow, but motorcycle racing is a business. I knew that I had to go back and earn my factory ride again.

YOU EARNED ANOTHER FACTORY RIDE BY BEING BRAVE ENOUGH TO RIDE A PRIVATEER YZ450F AT THE START OF THE NEXT SEASON. Yes, that is right. After I did well as a privateer, Keith McCarty (Yamaha Racing manager) gave me a couple of bikes. He also gave me a little bonus program. I ended up doing that for the first three or four rounds until, suddenly, I was back on a factory bike with Rockstar Husqvarna.

Dean raced Yamahas as an Amateur in Canada. Photo credit: David Pinkman

IT IS INTERESTING THAT YOU WERE BACK ON AN AUSTRIAN FACTORY TEAM. Yes, exactly! When Roger and Ian said that I would not be rehired by Red Bull KTM, I did not dwell on it; I just went back to work and earned it again. I was back under the same umbrella but not the same team. I did not burn my bridges there. I just had to work for it again, which was a very rewarding time to get back on Factory Rockstar Husqvarna.

YOUR DAYS AT HUSQVARNA WERE PRETTY GOOD, WEREN’T THEY? I did have some good rides. In Supercross I managed to get a few top-five finishes and overall finishes in top 10, which was good. In outdoors I got two podiums, finished fourth in 450 motocross points and then got re-signed. My years at Husqvarna really brought me back to life for sure.

HUSQVARNA WAS A GOOD HOME FOR YOU. Yes, being with them was great. I was there for six years on and off. One year they did not rehire me—2019—so I simply put my own Husqvarna program together with Rockstar. I almost won Anaheim 1 as a privateer in 2019. After that, suddenly, they wanted me back on the team again. My six years with Rockstar Husky were awesome. I had a good relationship with them. But, in the end, I could not really do outdoors anymore because my knee was in rough shape, and it was too much on my body. 

Dean spent six seasons racing for the Rockstar Husqvarna team.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE RACING THROUGH THE COVID TIMES?  The strange thing about COVID was that it helped me. At the 2019 Monster Energy Cup, I crashed, breaking and dislocating my hip. I only had two months to get ready for the 2020 Anaheim 1 Supercross. I did absolutely everything to be ready! I made Anaheim 1 and finished 13th, and that was a huge accomplishment. My 2020 goal was just to keep getting better, and eventually I finished seventh at the Daytona Supercross. Then, COVID happened. Supercross stopped, and it gave me more time to get ready. At the final group of Salt Lake City Supercross rounds, I did very well. Then, at the final Supercross, I was leading for a while before finishing third to my teammates. Rockstar Husqvarna took a podium sweep, and I earned a contract for the following year!

“I HAVE DEDICATED MY WHOLE LIFE TO RACING. IT GAVE ME A DRIVE AND A PURPOSE. AS I BEGIN TO STOP RACING, I WANT TO PUT THAT SAME FOCUS INTO MY OWN KIDS. ”  

YOU HAD SOME GOOD SUCCESS ON HUSKY, BUT YOU HAD SOME PRETTY ROUGH INJURIES, SUCH AS A TORN ACL AND THAT FOOTPEG TO THE BUTT. It was hard to come back from all of those, but I am proud of myself for always returning from scratch. I have torn my ACL six times, my left knee five times and my right knee once. So, six ACLs is really hard. And, the footpeg incident was much worse than it first appeared. I lost so much blood. It was gnarly, and I was anemic for some time after. But, I am still here managing to do it. I have been racing for 15 years, and I can’t complain. That is why I am happy with what I am doing, and I am grateful to still be racing. 

Dean won the 2023 Australian Supercross Championship and got third in the WSX Championship for Firepower Honda.

YOU SIGNED A SUPERCROSS-ONLY DEAL WITH FIREPOWER HONDA, AND THAT’S BEEN GOOD, HASN’T IT? Yes, 2023 was a good year for me. I was top 10 in the AMA Supercross series. I won the Australian Supercross Championship and finished third in the World Supercross Championship. I even cracked the top five at the last AMA round.

AMA Supercross is really tough. It is the highest level of motorcycle racing there is. The World Supercross Championship was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it, and it helped my body recover because it was not as hard on it. Firepower Honda owner Yarrive Konsky is very passionate about racing and just an awesome guy.

YOU AND YOUR SPONSORS SEEM TO BE VERY LOYAL TO EACH OTHER. TRUE? Yes. It is about surrounding yourself with good people who have your best interest in mind. O’Neal Racing has been nothing but awesome to me. They are such a good company. Same as Rockstar, and I have a few other sponsors that have always looked after me. Those are the people that I want to be around, and that is why I was always with them. I always tried not to burn too many bridges. Of course, I have some new sponsors that come with the Firepower Honda deal who have been awesome too! Having brands like Fly Racing and Firepower is a great help!

WILL YOU KEEP RACING IN THE NEAR FUTURE? I will be doing American Supercross, SuperMotocross, World Supercross and Australian Supercross. It will most likely be my last year in AMA racing for sure. I feel like I have a pretty good schedule, and it is a lot of fun. I like where I am at right now and just want to keep it going.  

THE WORLD SUPERCROSS SERIES SUFFERED FROM INFERIOR TRACKS & RACE CANCELLATIONS THAT SCUTTLED THE FIRST TWO YEARS. WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON WSX? I loved it. I got to travel to different countries. I got to race, and the bonuses are really good. I made good money from it. At this stage in my career I am racing to support my family, and WSX is helping me continue to race. No complaints from me. I love it. 

WHAT ARE YOUR BEST RACE MEMORIES? Winning my first championship will always stick out to me. Since it was a long time ago, it is not something I always bring up or think about, but it is something to look back on and think, “That was pretty cool that I did that.” Another big memory would be my comeback in 2017. That sticks out, as I lost my factory ride and could have been done racing, but I kept going when I was in the trenches. I earned my way back on a factory team and got back on the podium on the 450, which was awesome.

YOU MENTIONED 2024 BEING YOUR LAST YEAR OF AMA RACING. WHAT ELSE IS IN YOUR FUTURE? HOW DOES IT FEEL WHEN YOU SAY IT OUT LOUD? I have dedicated my whole life to racing. It gave me a drive and a purpose. As I begin to stop racing, I want to put that same focus into my own kids. We now have a son, and whatever he wants to do, I want to help him along the way. I want to be there for my kids the way my dad and mom were for me. I have had a great career, and I don’t want to drag it out to where I’m just riding around.