Page 44 - GRIT-80

JUSTIN HILL
450 MX / 5TH
IMAGE / LANG WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> 2018 has been quite a puzzling year for JGR Suzuki’s Justin Hill. The reigning 250 West Coast Supercross champion struggled signi cantly at all but two rounds of the 250 West Coast series this year. He was struggling to even get near the top ve but broke through and won in San Diego and nearly won in Oakland. Many thought that would spark his season but nothing ever caught re. He hopped onto a 450 for the Tampa Supercross and looked like a whole new rider. He was hitting rhythm sections that no other riders were doing and was actu- ally looking to make a pass for the lead in the main event before a crash derailed his perfor- mance. Similar story so far for him outdoors. With only fourteenth overall being his best nish in the 250 class at the rst three rounds, JGR put him on a 450 once again, to see if he could nd that same magic he had in Tampa, as the season rolled into High Point. Hill immediately looked much stronger and comfortable aboard the 450 in the morning qualifying practice sessions. His style seems to t that machine much better compared to the 250. He ended
up qualifying with the sixth fastest time and was ready to impress everyone once the gates dropped and the racing began. Hill kicked off the day of racing with a great fth place start in moto one. He avoided all the carnage in the rst turn and settled in behind Cody Cooper who held down fourth. Hill ate away at the little cushion Cooper had and assumed the fourth-place spot on lap three. He got there slightly too late however as the lead group as already long gone. He didn’t let that bother him as he just continued to put forth consistent laps. He ended up building a massive lead on the rest of the eld behind him. Late in the race, Blake Baggett did threaten that gap, but it did indeed prove big enough and Hill would nish with a very impressive fourth place in his rst ever moto on a 450. Hill could not match his nice start from moto one in the second one as this time he came out of lap one in eleventh place. He wasted no time moving forwards though. He jumped to seventh by lap two but would get passed by Benny Bloss on lap three, pushing him back to eighth. This didn’t sit well with Hill and the fol- lowing lap he would pass him back and also pass Phil Nicoletti for sixth. Then, much like the rst moto, he settled in and built a comfortable gap on the riders behind while the top ve had already distanced themselves. He would nish the second half of the race rather quietly and bring it home to the checkers right there in sixth. His 4-6 moto scores earned him fth overall. An amazing ride from someone who has never raced a 450 outdoors before and started the season on a 250. Clearly, the 450 is the bike that suits him best.
44 GRITMOTO • JUNE 17, 2018