Corona, CA: Wilson Wins San Diego!

San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium played host to the sixth round of Monster Energy Supercross this past Saturday, in what was probably the most unforgettable night of the series we have seen so far.

Up until Saturday night, the 2012 season for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Dean Wilson had been frustrating. He arrived in San Diego with a sizeable 22-point deficit to Eli Tomac, the Supercross Lites West Region Championship points leader at the time. Wilson’s goal was to finish on the podium, make up as many points as possible on Tomac, and leave healthy as the West Region prepared to go on its annual midseason break. In San Diego, however, Deano’s luck turned around and he ended up having one of the most memorable nights of his career.

Wilson set a good pace during practice, and was feeling confident and relaxed the entire day. The track was tough, and many riders were having trouble getting through a noticeably large set of whoops. Wilson, however, flowed through them easily. He set a blistering pace in his heat race and took the first win of the night.

Wilson’s flow carried on to the Supercross Lites Main Event, as he quickly charged to the front of the pack and took the early lead. He was feeling good about being able to make up some ground on Tomac, who sat a few positions behind him.

Wilson ended up leading every lap in the main event, and earned his second win of the season. In an unbelievable turn of events, Tomac found himself on the ground, unable to continue. The incident resulted in a DNF for Tomac, vaulting Wilson into the points lead. He now sits two points ahead of Tomac in the Supercross Lites West Region Championship, with just two rounds remaining.

“This race was amazing,” said Wilson. “I felt good all day. I got a good start and just clicked off laps. I was so happy afterwards because I didn’t expect to make up 24 points. Now that we’re going on break, I’m just going to start getting things dialed for outdoors, but will still be training and focused on Supercross for when we start up again in Seattle.”

Broc Tickle, the team’s only rider in the Supercross Class, has been feeling comfortable and confident aboard his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki machine. He’s been focused on making steady improvements with each race, but experienced a bit of a setback in San Diego as he suffered from a tumble in the Supercross Class Main Event. Tickle wants to use Saturday’s race as a learning experience, and focus on this weekend’s race at Cowboys Stadium.

The Supercross Lites West Region Championship will be taking a break from action until April 21, 2012, as the Supercross Lites East Region Championship kicks off the 2012 season this weekend in Arlington at Cowboys Stadium. Wilson will proudly display the red plate, the second time the team gets the honor this season, when the Supercross Lites West Region reconvenes in Seattle at CenturyLink Field. Blake Baggett and Darryn Durham now enter the spotlight as they spearhead the Monster Energy Supercross Lites East Region for the team. Tickle will continue on to Cowboys Stadium in the Supercross Class in 14th, with 44 points.