There are only a few guys racing currently here in the States that can say they’ve won multiple races on both the MXGP and U.S. MX Nationals race circuits. That number drops radically when you add multiple U.S. 250cc Monster Energy AMA Supercross titles to that mix. And add a 250 AND a 450 outdoor title? That number drops to only several racers. And here’s one of those racers - Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis.

The French-born Ferrandis, who resides in Murietta, California, was on the American factory race teams’ radar for several years as he climbed through the ranks of MXGP’s highly competitive MX2 class.

Named the “Best Young Racer” at the 2014 Motocross Des Nations after winning Team France, Ferrandis would eventually make his way over the pond to U.S. shores and made an immediate impact – racing both U.S. MX (6th 250s) & SX (5th WSX) series in 2017, then winning, with Team France, the 2018 Motocross Des Nations at RedBud MX in Michigan.

The following season, Ferrandis captured the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250 WSX crown and backed that up the following year with the ’20 250 WSX title. And that summer, Ferrandis would show his speed and talent outdoors, winning the 2020 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 250 class title.

The following season Ferrandis hit big, winning the premier 450 class MX title in his rookie season in the class – one of only a few racers (Langston, Dungey & Roczen) to do so in their inaugural year on the 450s.

In winning the title, a race early, Ferrandis had six 450 class outdoor victories – and podiumed in every round – in 2021. So, in just three short years Ferrandis, quite literally, put up AMA Hall of Fame numbers.

Ferrandis isn’t the first French racer to win a coveted American MX/SX championship. From the great Jean-Michel Bayle of the 1980s/90s, through the 1990s names like Mikael Pichon, Stephane Roncada, Christophe Pourcel, and, most recently, Marvin Musquin, Ferrandis ranks with Bayle in terms of winning both indoor (SX) and outdoor (MX) 250 class championships, in addition to being the only French racer (besides Bayle) to win as 450 outdoor title – something Pichon, Roncada, Pourcel and Musquin were never able to accomplish.

So, what makes Ferrandis different? One key to that is having aligned himself with another great French motocross racer, David Vuillemin. Aka “Le Cobra,” Vuillemin had a highly successful pro racing career here in the States and, for five years, played an integral role in developing his countryman Ferrandis’ talent. This includes a ferocious training regimen at Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s champion-building facility, known as Ricky Carmichael’s GOAT Farm in Florida. And while Ferrandis and Vuillemin parted ways in ’22, Star Racing’s owner Bobby Regan is committed to winning – and Ferrandis has proven he’s certainly on board with that.