Q and A with MXP

Q and A with MXP is brought to you by Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd.

I must say that I’ve been very impressed with the response each week with this feature. Please remember that if you have a question for me or for a certain rider, make sure you email me at chris@mxpmag.com and I’ll try to answer it for you. This week’s question comes from a young man who goes by the name of Brandon.

Brandon wants to know how I think Dylan Wright will do this summer as a first year pro rider?

Great question Brandon and thank you for taking the time to email it in. I think it would be easy to sit back and say that Dylan will have a typical rookie season on the pro circuit. You know how it goes for an average rookie pro rider, they’re fast at times but they end up making a lot of mistakes and it ends up hurting their overall results. We’ve seen this time and time again from numerous rookie riders, regardless of their hype coming into the season.

But I think Dylan Wright is a little different than most rookies that have come before him. From watching Dylan last year, both on and off the track, I think this kid is really something special. First off, we all know how fast he is; in 2013 on his YZ250 two-stroke he blazed around the Ontario tracks as an Intermediate beating almost every top rider at one time or another. His podium at the Gopher Dunes National was incredible, as was his week long battle with Weston Wrozyna at the Parts Canada TransCan. He had a lot of confidence-building races that made his last year as an amateur a rousing success. Just this raw speed alone will help him this summer in the MX2 class, but with Dylan there’s a lot more.

Regardless of how this summer goes, we hope that Dylan will be able to keep a smile on his face.

There’s a saying in sport and in life that states “Work beats talent when talent doesn’t work”. I believe that as much as Dylan has a ton of talent, he’s also one of the hardest working riders on the circuit and this will help him the most this summer. Racing pro is tough, racing pro and getting good results consistently is even tougher. It takes a certain type of rider and person to cope with the pressure, week in and week out. If there’s one small crack in your program, it will be exposed and the other riders will take full advantage of it.

Dylan also has a great support system behind him; his parents, his friends and his team will be there to not only pick him up if he falls, but also to reinforce that he’s doing things correctly. Confidence is everything, and trust me, you need both talent and confidence if you’re going to succeed. I look for Dylan to be a consistent top five rider this summer in the MX2 class, especially at the first few rounds. After he gets comfortable with his new surroundings I see him on the podium, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he wins a moto or two before the series is over. This kid is the real deal and I can’t wait to watch him this summer. I hope that answers your question Brandon!

With his speed, style and hard working attitude, I think Dylan is posed to have a great rookie year in the MX2 Pro class.