Dylan Ferrandis knows there are ebbs and flows in professional sports and one works their entire lives to be on the right side of that rise and fall. The measure of success is not dependent on tides, however.
Three years removed from winning the 2020 250 Pro Motocross championship, Ferrandis knew he was not happy. Something had to change, and he joined a growing list of riders looking for the precarious balance of happiness and success.
To the outside world success in the SuperMotocross world means landing a factory ride. That brings stability and arguably the best equipment available for the professional rider.
“When I was with factory Yamaha, I was just miserable, and I was struggling and depressed,” Ferrandis told NBC Sports. “When I moved to Honda Phoenix it was refreshing. I more happy. Every day I’ve been on the track with a smile and left the track with a smile also and that makes a big difference as an athlete. Not just a rider, but every athlete in the world.”
Ferrandis needed a change.
At the end of the Pro Motocross season, he knew he would not return as the lead factory rider for Yamaha, but it was not until late November that he announced his 2024 plans. He would join Phoenix Honda and ride for a satellite team of the one that produced six of seven championships offered in 2023.
Ferrandis has nothing to prove. He won the 2019 and 2020 250 Supercross West championships and then immediately had success in the 450 class in the outdoor season in his first effort there. He won that title over the most successful rider in recent history, Eli Tomac.
“I don ‘t want to prove anything,” Ferrandis said. “I’ve won a couple of championships already, it’s just that I don’t want to retire yet.
“I want to train and win races; it’s what motivates me every day. At the end of the year, if I can win my first Supercross race and fight for the championship, maybe be in the top three at the end, that would be awesome.”
His 450 effort in his rookie Supercross season was not as productive. Ferrandis finished seventh there in 2021 and was 11th in 2022.
Last year after a couple of hard crashes in the Supercross series, Ferrandis missed much of the stadium series before running well in Motocross. A couple of hard crashes in the stadium series resulted in two concussions. And when he returned to competition, the bike didn’t feel right.
“I just needed something fresh,” Ferrandis said. “And also to change where we live and the people I work with. We did that and when this deal happened, these people wanted to work with me. I wanted to ride a Honda, I wanted to ride with a factory connection and that was a very comfortable situation where you feel like people want you. That makes me feel good.
“So far, every day at the track, it’s super good and everyone is super nice - and we just have a good time. It’s something I missed the last couple of years.”
Phoenix Honda is not a factory team - but then again, it’s not exactly a satellite team.
With massive support from Honda Racing Corporation, it can almost be considered a 1A team that receives major support from the factory. Ferrandis has at his disposal many of the same resources as those available to Jett Lawrence, winner of the three championships in 2023 including the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship and the reigning champion Chase Sexton. The chassis is custom built for Ferrandis and the team has been built around his needs.
“It’s awesome, refreshing; new team, new bike,” Ferrandis said. “It’s what I was looking for. ... The people who are working with the team are the people in the industry that people want to work with.
“We get help from Honda chassis but we don’t want to do everything like them. [We] want to do a bike for me and do everything to make me comfortable and go as fast as I can.”
Ferrandis’ recipe for success is not unique. Ahead of the 2023 season, Ken Roczen made the decision to leave Honda and gamble on the success of an as-yet unproven team and bike when he moved to HEP Progressive Ecstar Suzuki. At the time, Roczen told NBC Sports that he desperately needed change with comments that were remarkably similar to those of Ferrandis.
“When [Ken Roczen] did that, I was like ‘man, this guy is like on the best team in the world, on a factory bike and he moved to an old bike with a private team, what’s wrong?’,” Ferrandis said “And I think I and the whole industry and we realized he was struggling like I was struggling and moving to the team where people wanted to work with him and he was happier. When you ride happy, you ride better. You progress.”
Roczen progressively improved during the season and was one of the top contenders for the SMX title, even after missing most of the outdoor season.
Ferrandis believes he will replicate that success in 2024. More importantly, he knows he’s going to be happy during his quest.
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