Well, he did it! Last weekend at Walton Raceway Dylan Wright concluded his perfect season by winning both 450 motos. It was a heck of a summer for Dylan and his GDR Honda Team as not only did they go 20 for 20 in the 450 class, but they also won the 250 Championship with 16-year-old Ryder McNabb. It was an unforgettable Triple Crown Series for the red riders and it was amazing to see Dylan Wright find success and have the first ever perfect series in Canadian motocross. We let Dylan decompress for a few days before reaching out to him for this week’s MXP Chatter brought to you by Motovan.
Hey Dylan! We’re almost a week out from the final round of the Triple Crown Series. How are you feeling?
DW: Hey Palms! I feel pretty good this week. It was good to wrap up the 450 championship early so I could just focus on riding at Walton Raceway and trying to win both motos. It wasn’t easy but we were able to get it done and have that perfect summer.
I still cannot believe that you won every moto this summer. Not because of your speed or ability but because in 20 motos there is so much that could go wrong.
For sure, there is a lot that could go wrong and there were a few motos where I thought the streak might come to an end. I mean, look at moto two in SDL. I’m sure everyone watching didn’t think I was going to be able to get to the front. But I knew there was going to be motos like that this summer and the thing I’m most proud of is that I was able to remain focused and really just take it one moto at a time.
Was there a time in the second moto at SDL that you didn’t think you’d be able to catch the leaders?
That’s a good question. I think maybe on the second lap I was thinking oh Dylan what have you done here? However, as the opening laps came and went and I saw how much I was gaining on the leaders I figured that I could make my way to the front. I definitely took some chances in the first part of that moto as I was pushing pretty hard. It’s all fun though! Sometimes you have to test yourself and earn what you get.
Which moto in your opinion was more challenging. That second moto at SDL or the motos at Riverglade when you had to race with broken ribs?
Definitely Riverglade, that one was tough. After practice, I came in and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to even race. I was having trouble breathing as it really hurt to inhale and exhale. So in practice, I kept holding my breath, and then I would have to let out a big breath and that would hurt even more. In the motos, I just focused on taking little breaths and trying to stay calm and in the end, it worked. That was the toughest round of the summer for sure and it was too bad that I was hurt as I thought the track was pretty good.
That does sound painful and I think anyone who has broken ribs knows exactly what you’re talking about. A week later Round 8 in Deschambault also appeared to be a challenging one?
It was for sure. I didn’t ride at all the week between Riverglade and Deschambault, in fact, I didn’t do anything except lay on the couch and try and feel better. So when you go to a race without having done anything and also your still in pain your confidence isn’t at an all-time high. Then in practice, I stalled my bike in a corner but at the time I thought maybe it had just cut out. So I pulled into the mechanics area and told Justin (Justin Petker is Dylan’s mechanic) that my bike cut out and to go and get the backup bike. Once I got on that bike I started thinking that maybe I had just stalled it and that the bike hadn’t cut out. Anyway, it all worked out but it’s little moments like that when you’re trying to win a title that gets you a little stressed.
Heading into the final round at Walton Raceway you had the championship clinched so there was no worry there. There was a weekend off between Round 8 and 9 so I’m assuming your ribs felt a little better. But then you hear that Husqvarna is bringing up Zach Osborne basically to try and beat you, what was your thought on that?
I think Zach was the perfect guy to bring up as his name does carry some weight and also he’s really a great guy. He appeared to fit in perfectly at the Walton TransCan and he looked to be having fun. I knew he had some good speed as we saw in qualifying when he took the top spot but I didn’t think he would have the endurance to push like that for 35 minutes. In the opening moto he was there for a bit I think he went down and his hurt hand. Then in moto 2, I didn’t see him as he pulled off early. As I said, I’m glad he came up as he’s a good guy and great for the sport and hopefully he comes back at some point.
Okay, so you finished off your perfect season in style at Walton Raceway and also won your third 450 Championship in a row. This is remarkable and I think you should be applauded for how you go about your racing and training. Obviously racing in those MXGP events last fall took you to a new level with your riding and that was evident all summer long. But here is the golden question. What is next for Dylan Wright? I heard at Walton Raceway that you might be going World SX racing in October?
That is a good question Palms! I wish I had the answer to that one right now. First up is my wedding on the 27th of August so I’m not really thinking past that. Obviously, there is a lot of planning that goes into weddings and ours is no different. After that, I’ll start training for the MXON at Red Bud as that is a big event for all of us. I think we have a chance to do well and I want to be ready. After that, I’m not sure. Yes, I do have an offer to go and do the World SX Series but if I did that it puts me in a tough spot with getting my knees fixed. I’m getting another MRI in a few weeks so they can see how they look after a summer of racing. Once we get the results from that we’ll have a better idea of how to proceed. If I raced the WSX and then had surgery it would be cutting it close to being ready for next season. So I’m in a tough spot and I have some tough decisions to make in the next few weeks. As far as where I’ll be racing in 2023 I think I’ll be back in Canada as I do enjoy it and I think our series is pretty good. I know some people would love me to go to Europe or the USA but you can’t go there and hope to succeed if you don’t have the right program.
I agree Dylan! Also, I know you don’t want to talk about money but at the end of the day you have to consider risk vs reward and you have to get paid what you’re worth. You do well in Canada and if you can do this for another 10 years you’ll be in a good spot after racing.
For sure! Many factors go into making decisions like this and it all has to make sense. So we’ll see about WSX but it would be tough to pull off at this point. So I’ll most likely be racing in Canada in 2023 and hopefully, I’ll be back under the GDR Honda Tent.
It sounds like you have a lot of decisions to make in the coming weeks and months.
Definitely! But as I said first things first and right now I’m just thinking about our wedding.
Well, it sounds as though you’re in a really good spot mentally and that is so important. I really appreciate you doing this and congratulations on your incredible 2022 season. It was fun to watch and I know I speak for all of Canada when I say that we cannot wait to see you and your teammates take on the world’s best riders at Red Bud.
Thank you Palms! I cannot wait to go to Red Bud and battle those guys. I learned a lot racing against some of them last year in the MXGP’s so hopefully that will help.