To say that it’s been a challenging year for Dylan Wright would be a great understatement. First, his season began with a hard crash while training down in Florida in early March. Then, came his biggest setback of 2024 when he suffered a big get off at Round 2 of the Triple Crown Series in Lethbridge. However, despite Dylan’s adversity, he showed tremendous determination when he returned to the starting line for the final round at Walton Raceway, and came away with a popular victory in the 450 class. Many in the industry, including Dylan himself feel that his returning win at Walton Raceway got him a spot on Team Canada for the 2024 MXON, which took place two weeks ago in the UK. Dylan and his Canadian teammates had a solid day in England, finishing 15th overall in the challenging conditions. After the MXON, Dylan and his wife took a well-earned vacation to Italy and Ireland, before returning home earlier this week. We caught up with the multi-time champion to see how he is feeling, as well as what is coming up on his schedule during the next few months.
MXP: Hey Dylan! You just returned from vacationing in Europe, how did that go?
DW: It was great! Right after the MXON we flew to Naples and spent some time in Italy touring around. I get bored if I sit in one place for too long, so we moved around quite a bit. From there, we flew to Dublin and spent a few days in Ireland before flying home. Obviously, with our busy schedules we don’t get a lot of time to take vacations, so this was a good one.
Did you enjoy visiting Ireland?
We loved it there actually. We toured around and saw some of the cool tourist places. We visited some pubs, the people there was amazing, and we had a great time. I’ll definitely go back there one day, and maybe even bring my Dad. He’d love it there also.
We can picture Bill touring around Ireland for sure. Okay, let’s go back a couple of weeks to the MXON event. Team Canada had a decent day finishing 15th against the world’s best riders. Were you happy with that result?
No, I wasn’t happy if I’m being completely honest. I mean, it was okay, and it was obviously a big improvement over last year. But, I feel that with a little more luck, and if I had a better finish in the opening moto, those extra points would’ve put us close to tenth overall. As a team, I thought we all rode well and it is what it is. The track was tough, the conditions were tough, and obviously the competition was tough.
Let’s talk about the conditions for a minute. Obviously, everyone had to deal with them, but it’s always interesting to hear about the race within the race, as it seems like each rider had a different story to tell.
To be honest, the track was shit! There was ruts everywhere, in the corners, on the jump faces, on the jump landings, everywhere! You would take off from a jump and not know which rut you were landing in until you were in the air. Added with the vision problems that we all had to deal with, and we had some of the toughest conditions I’ve ever ridden in. In my opening moto, I went with roll-offs and those didn’t work well. In the second moto, I used tear-offs and tried to keep track of how many I used, so I could keep some for the end. I don’t know, it was a tossup on which was better. It was just misting enough that you had to keep working to keep clear vision. It wasn’t until the second half of the final moto that the mist finally stopped, and you didn’t have to keep pulling tear-offs.
Obviously, this is a team event and in the end you’re judged as a group, as opposed to an individual. However, if you break down each moto result, your final moto finish of 13th was extremely impressive. Given the track and conditions, as well as the riders around you, that moto result had to be up there with your tenth place finish in the final moto at Red Bud in 2022?
Thank you! Yeah, that tenth in 2022 was pretty special as I rode well in that race. But, going back to a few weeks ago and I wasn’t really happy with that final moto to be honest. Actually, I thought both of my results could’ve been better. In that final moto, my bike stalled on the line while the 15 second board was up. I was trying to get it going again and for whatever reason it didn’t just fire up right away. Finally, as the board went sideways it started, but then I didn’t have time get engage my start map on my ECU switch. When you’re starting on a grate, the start map is such an advantage as you can just hold the bike wide open and the ECU gives you the perfect RPM. So, without that I tried to judge the RPM and hold it at about half throttle. I ended up not getting a bad start, but it wasn’t great and I had to really be careful for the opening few laps. By the time I got some clean air, it was tough to catch the guys in front of me as they were going fast.
Was being more cautious this year, especially in the early laps, something you really tried to work on heading into the MXON this year?
For sure! I mean we all saw what happened last year, so yes, I really tried to just let the race come to me this time around. Part of that was the track, as well as the conditions, but overall I did my best to stay calm and do what I could.
Even on television those early laps looked very chaotic, so I can only imagine how crazy it was to be a part of it. With the results aside, did this year have a better overall feel than last year?
For sure! As a team we had a good vibe all week and it was fun to be a part of it this year. Even leading up to the race, Kaven, Jess, and I spent time riding and training together, so that was good. Jess and I have even been over to each other’s homes for dinner, so that certainly added to the team chemistry. It was just a good experience overall, and with the race being back in the USA in 2025, hopefully we can build on things and have an even better result.
Well, that is great to hear. Okay, you’re back from vacation and you don’t have any events coming up. What does the next few months look like for you?
The first thing I have to do is travel to Gopher Dunes soon to do some suspension testing with Colton [Facciotti] (SSS Suspension Settings), on the new 2025 CRF450R. We have to do some testing while the weather is still good for riding. This will give us a good base for when I head down south in February next year. So, hopefully, get all done here in the next few weeks. After that, I still have some therapy and work to do on my shoulder to get it back to 100%. I mean, it’s a lot better than it was, but I’m probably 8 weeks of work away from it being all better. With having to ride and train for the MXON during September I had to put off just doing specific therapy on it. Other than that, there is always some work to do around the house, as well as some stuff with Honda. I always find that the time from now until Christmas always goes by fast. Then, it’s a new year and time to start thinking about riding.
As you said earlier, you don’t like sitting around doing nothing, so we know you’ll be busy doing something. Final question today Dylan. You had the chance to ride the new 2025 CRF450R for a few laps last month, what were your initial thoughts on the bike you’ll be racing next year?
Yes, I did have the chance to ride a bone stock one a few weeks ago. I think it was the one you raced at Walton actually. Anyway, even in stock form I was faster on it then on my 2024 race bike. It’s just better all around, and I cannot wait to test and really get to work on the 2025 model. Obviously, the bike has already had some success with Jett, Hunter, and Gajser, so I’m really excited about it.
That is good to hear. Also, if you’re going to do some suspension testing soon, Colton is really going to like how much easier it is to remove the rear shock on the 2025 (laughs).
Yes, he will like that.
Alright Dylan! It’s always good to chat with you. We know that this past year was challenging, but it was good to see you back at the final round at Walton Raceway, and also back representing Canada at the MXON. Enjoy the off-season and we’ll talk soon.
Thanks Palms. All the best to your family and we’ll chat soon.
