Dean's Non Fill-In Fill-In Deal

When it was announced that Zach Osborne would miss the first several rounds of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season with a collarbone injury, the natural assumption was that Dean Wilson, who has built his own program with support from Rockstar and Husqvarna, would slide in as a fill-in rider. However, when the team announced Osborne was out, they didn't name Wilson as a replacement. But he is, kind of.

When Osborne went down, the team called Dean and offered him the spot, but Wilson didn't want to move away from the sponsors he had backing his own effort. So instead, the factory team offered to take care of his bike, send him whatever parts he needs, and even pay some travel expenses just like they would do for a fill-in rider. But Dean still pits in his own setup—out of a sprinter van—and gets to keep all of his sponsor logos on his bike. At the end of the night, though, his bike will be wheeled over to the factory truck, and the team will take it back and work on it in the team race shop. He had boxes of parts sitting near his van yesterday, and he's parked right next to the team semi. Dean could take Osborne's forks, for example, but he's sticking with the forks he's been practicing on during the off-season.

Osborne is expected out for four to six weeks, according to the team's announcement.