Dean Wilson is one of the United Kingdom’s greatest dirt bike racers and exports, winning championships all around the globe. 2025 was his first taste of Arenacross and his first British title, a taste he wants more of…
The everlong and popular Scotsman we simply call ‘Deano’ brought so much to the 2025 British Arenacross championship and in return it gave so much to him. After his early years living in East Kilbride, near Glasgow, Dean and his family emigrated to Calgary, Canada when he was seven. It was there where he cut his teeth in the sport, as well as developing his unique and distinctive ‘Scotnadian’ accent, which is also laced with hints of ‘Cali’ from his extensive time living in California further down the line in his career.
Leaving his native motherland of Scotland has been an obvious success story for Wilson. He has etched out his dream of becoming a professional dirt bike racing athlete and has traveled to all four corners of the globe, winning titles and increasing popularity with fans on his life journey. His standout successes have been both side of the equator, taking the 2011 AMA American 250cc Motocross championship, a Brazilian and more recently his second Australian National Supercross title. He’s also represented both Canada and Great Britain in the world’s biggest motocross race, the ‘Motocross of Nations’.
READ MORE: ARENACROSS NEWS
However, through all his international success, last year was the first time since he left Scotland in 1999 that he’d raced in a British championship. It was a homecoming of sorts that none of us knew we needed, probably no one more so than Deano himself, who fully embraced the experience of racing Arenacross and being back in the UK. We caught up with Dean after his recent success in Australia to talk about his experiences and opinion on all things Arenacross, here’s what he had to say….
“I really enjoyed being back home in Scotland and the UK last year. It was way more than just another race for me. It was actually really sentimental and quite emotional. Sarah and Ewan came with me, and we made it a family trip and caught up with family and friends I haven’t seen for a long time. We also got to have a look around parts of the UK in between the races and have some real quality family downtime that we really enjoyed and appreciated.
“I genuinely enjoyed the whole experience of racing the Arenacross tour. I’d seen enough of it before by watching the livestream, YouTube and social media in previous years. I’m good friends with Tommy (Searle), Adam (Chatfield) and a bunch of the other British lads, so I’ve always tried to keep up with it where I can and I had always thought it was a well put together championship I would like to race one day. So when the opportunity came along to race it last year I was keen for it and I’m glad I did.
“I had a lot of fun racing and battling with all the lads. It was intense out there, but there’s a lot of respect between us all, and we kept it clean for the best part. Of course, there’s always going to be some contact and incidents but there wasn’t any bad intent and the banter between races among us all was a really good craic, some of the best I’ve ever experienced racing anywhere in the world.
“The tracks were also good to ride and race and with the area they’ve got to work with I think the lads did a brilliant job. It’s one hell of a show that Matt and the team have put together. There’s a lot of attention to detail, and it shows because it’s one of the best ‘shows’ in our sport. It really brings the fans into it and they get so amped and you can’t help but feed off the energy they bring. It’s buzzing and packed out from the autograph session all the way to the podium at the end of the night. I know people think I’m bound to say this, but it really is a brilliant, entertaining night.
“Now having had my own taste and experience of Arenacross in the UK I think it really can help get more eyeballs on our sport in Britain. We all know motocross is never going to compete with football, rugby, cricket or tennis, but I think Arenacross can definitely bring more people into the sport because it’s such a good night out and packages up all the best parts of our sport. It’s got the excitement, action, drama, adrenaline, colour, noise and smell, all crammed into 3-4 hours from the comfort of a chair in the warm and dry. The show is so good it warrants it being on a major sports network like Eurosport so more people can discover it and get into it. I would love to see that happen, that would be a massive step forward for our sport in the UK. Arenacross can fuel motocross because you have to remember you start out learning to ride a dirtbike on a motocross track.
“I think more people in motocross should look at being involved in Arenacross. By that, I mean the industry and the next generation of riders. I’ve lived and raced in America long enough to see the difference Supercross makes and how it helps drive motocross there. Arenacross could be and should be the equivalent in the UK. If more of the next generation of racers got into it, not only would it help the sport grow, it would help them with their skill set and put them in front of a mainstream audience who otherwise wouldn’t get to see them. There’s more chance of a high-street or corporate brand investing in them and the sport in general. For me it’s a no brainer and the sooner they get into racing Arenacross the better.
“Of course, I’m going to sound biased because it’s my job and I love what I do. For me though the best part was racing in front of family and friends and hanging out with a cool bunch of people at the races and away from them. I was in the UK to do a job but it also felt like an extended home from home holiday. Winning a British title was also cool, obviously, and means a lot to me, more than I thought it would actually. I think that’s mainly because how I was made to feel so at home by the British fans last year. I’d been away from the UK for so long since I was kid, so to finally add to British title to my resume is pretty cool. The fans were unreal last year. They were so nice and complimentary to me and I really enjoyed meeting so many of them at each and every round. I’m so grateful to have so many of them behind me. Last year was a such a good experience for me and then to go straight from winning the title to fill in at HRC Honda in the US was the icing on the cake. I had such a good time racing the Arenacross and being in the UK, so I’m really looking forward to coming back and doing it all over again.”
Arenacross returns in 2026 with two huge stops, kicking off in Birmingham at bp pulse LIVE on Saturday 31 January, before heading to Belfast’s SSE Arena for two nights on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 February. Tickets for all dates are on sale now and demand is already high, with fans locking in seats early for what promises to be one of the most explosive Arenacross seasons yet. With limited availability across each venue, supporters are encouraged to secure tickets early to avoid missing out on one of winter’s biggest live motorsport events.
Arenacross is indoor motocross with the dial turned all the way up — bar-to-bar racing on tight, technical tracks, freestyle motocross riders launching over 40ft into the air, and a full-scale live production of lights, music, pyro and atmosphere. It packages the very best of dirt bike sport into a fast-paced, family-friendly show that delivers non-stop action from start to finish, all from the comfort of an arena seat. Equal parts elite competition and high-energy entertainment, Arenacross has become a must-see winter spectacle for hardcore motocross fans and first-timers alike.
Words and Images by Arenacross World Tour
