Dean Ferris | Factory Fill-In
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Last week it was announced that Dean Ferris had been tapped to ride for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing team during the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. With original rider Aaron Plessinger on the mend from a heel injury and first fill-in Josh Grant dealing with injuries from a practice crash, the team was in need of a suitable replacement for the summer and Ferris fit the mold. From the sound of things, it’s a deal that offers both the rider and team the chance to chase their ambitions without tremendous risk. “It was my goal to get here and do the championship,” he explained during a recent test day with the Yamaha team at Fox Raceway. “I’m super grateful for it and it’s a deal that I had been trying to work out.”
This isn’t the first time that Ferris has raced for a team in the United States. In 2014, he inked a last-minute one-year deal with Red Bull KTM to run the 250 West Coast SX region and 250 Nationals aboard a factory 250 SX-F, but the opportunity did not pan out the way either party expected. Ferris struggled to sort out the skills and setup necessary for Supercross, then suffered a badly broken wrist during the downtime between West Coast Supercross rounds and was sidelined for the rest of the year. “I probably wasn’t ready to race Supercross at that level, it was tough,” he explained five years later. To have it all happen at an important time of the rider’s career was a devastating setback, but a move back to Australia gave the rider a chance to rebuild and get ready for the next part of his career. Over the last three years Ferris has claimed three consecutive titles in Australia’s 450 National motocross series, and that has brought him back into the conversation of underappreciated talent. “I have regrouped over the last few years and won three championships in a row in Australia. I kind of re-established my career back there as a solid rider,” he reflected.
Even with the success in Australia, racing the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship or MXGP series has remained the goal for Ferris. “The next step was for me to come here and do the outdoors. It’s something I’ve been working towards for a long time, since I left here the last time, and I want to do it the right way,” he stated. Ferris lined up for a single round of the American series two years ago, the 2017 High Point Motocross, and was impressive in his standalone performance. Aboard a CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha with some of his own parts, Ferris was the third-fastest rider in qualifying, led laps in 450 Moto One and finished that moto in second place, then had an opening lap crash in 450 Moto bounced back to finish fourteenth; 2-14 scores put him seventh overall on the day. Unfortunately, the one day was not enough to sway team managers in America and Ferris returned to Australia for another season.
Over the last few months, Ferris has made it clear he will race almost anywhere on any bike, just as long as it’s something that can propel his career forward. Even though he bypassed a contract offer from Yamaha’s Australian division, he has maintained a solid relationship with the brand and was selected to fill-in for Romain Febvre when the French rider was hurt during the early part of this year’s MXGP series (Ferris suffered a small knee injury before the first round of the fill-in deal and did not race). “I’ve been busy for a while now training and riding. I’m in a lot better shape and better place,” Ferris noted. “I have had a good relationship with Yamaha over the years and I opted not to sign with Yamaha in Australia, even though I get along with everyone there. When this came up, I felt like I am a good choice for Yamaha here. It worked out quite easily.”
Where does Ferris think he will rank? “Honestly, the deal came about so fast that I didn’t have time to think about that. After my good result at High Point, I’d say expectations should be high, but I need to see where I am at. I can’t live off that one race. There will be some good days and some harder days, for sure, because that’s racing. But I will keep the focus on doing what I can to be the best that I can, and where that lands me, well that’s good enough.”
