Supercross star comes home

Dean Wilson lives in California but has Canadian roots.

Larry Tate

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Rising supercross star Dean Wilson is 18, has raced in three countries, currently lives and works in California, but still considers himself a Canadian. "I don't think about it much, really. I've lived about equal times in Scotland, Calgary, and California, but my racing really got serious in Canada."

Born in Scotland in 1991, Wilson had his first bike as a birthday gift from his dad, a carpenter, at the age of 3. "My dad used to race, and thought I'd enjoy it."

He started motocross racing in Scotland on a Kawasaki KX60 when he was 8, and the next year his family moved to Canada.

He kept up the racing, "mostly at Blackfoot Park, but anywhere we could get a race," and the family started vacationing in California in 2003. They liked the place and the change from Alberta's always-entertaining weather, so moved south full-time in 2006.

In the meantime, Dean's motocross racing hobby had blossomed to the point that he won four straight Canadian national amateur titles from 2003 to 2006.

Once in California, his talent attracted the attention of Kawasaki's Team Green amateur program and in 2008 he won six championships, including the national Amateur National Motocross title in the Modified B class. "I got a sports visa to work in the States, so that was good."

His progress continued in 2009, as he claimed an astounding 13 amateur titles during the season. At the end of the year, he was awarded the American Motorcyclists' Association Horizon Award, given to the most outstanding rider in the national championships, where he won both the 250 and 450 Pro Sport classes.

To cap off 2009, he joined the Canadian team in the prestigious Motocross de Nations in Italy for his professional debut, where he won the B-Final race.

"That was a huge event for me, my first really big one. The guys we were competing against were really fast. The surroundings were very different, which made things difficult – the travel, the language, the food, stuff like that. It didn't work out all that well for results, but it was a real experience.

"Would I do it again? I don't know. I guess it would depend on the circumstances. Basically, I've got a serious job here now, and that's my priority."

How does stadium supercross racing differ from motocross, where he's spent most of his time?

"Well, mostly it's that SX has a lot of huge jumps, and the lap times are shorter, the tracks are tighter. In supercross you're looking at a 15-minute race with one-minute lap times; motocross it's like two-minute laps for half an hour. I think motocross is a lot harder, it really separates the men from the boys in terms of conditioning and stuff like that. If you can do one, you can do the other.

"But I don't really have a favourite. This is my first year of supercross, and I like them both when I'm doing them. I'm racing the Lites in supercross (250 cc four-strokes or 125 cc two-strokes; Wilson rides a Kawasaki KX250F) and that's great for me. Right now I don't care if I race the big bikes or not."

How about school? At 18, what does the future look like?

"I've finished high school, and that's all of that for now. You know, this (racing) is my job. Basically, I live with my family and Kawasaki is paying for me to race. I'm having fun with it while I can. This is what I want to do."

So what kind of goals does a budding supercross star have?

"I'm going to be real happy if I can finish in the top three every race, and finish there in the Lites series this year (he's currently third). I really hope to be top of the box before the year is out.

"Next year? I guess that'll depend how well things go this season."

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