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JUSTIN HILL
250 MX / 15TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / TILLS
>> You hear the term in all types of sports; teams dealing with a “hangover” effect from their previous championship win. On the highest of high’s, feeling on top of the world, and the following season, term, championship what have you, not delivering up to your previous performances standards. Many are lumping Justin Hill in this category, but there are also those who believe in the Kawasaki pilot, as his speed is ever so apparent, he just seems to be bitten by a hint of bad luck and misfortunate almost every weekend. Muddy creek was no different, a twelfth place start saw him running a solid pace, and pushing through the slick conditions of dew and precipitation, his SX skills coming into play with his amount of precise throttle control. Lugging the bike a gear tall in spots, his outside elbow cocked a little higher than usual to counterbalance the slippery soil, all seemed to be well. Until his aggression would be a tad too much, washing out in the first turn, getting plowed by Dylan Ferrandis in the process. With the top ten beginning to fade away, he would remount, push- ing all the way to 17th. With the soil appearing much brighter than earlier, he began to get in the zone behind the starting gate, bobbing and weaving as
the blood rushed through his veins. Firing out of the rut, the pack swarmed him, and he was pushed to 13th across the opening flag. Leap frogging past Cunningham and Hampshire in the opening stages, his pace was furious, but at times seemed to be overriding the track. Tripling the jump before the finish line, he was setting up perfectly for the following right-hander, a slight grab on the front brake to keep the chassis settled, and the front end carving in the perfect apex of the rut. Pushing each section of the track, he found himself shuffling again with the number 31, and Luke Renzland. At times crisscrossing with one another, he was searching near and dear for the smoothest line, as the Kawi would bottom off the selected singles of the course. His efforts would be placed with a 13th place by moto’s end, taking a disappointing fifteenth overall on the day; he’ll be back.
90 GRITMOTO • JUNE 25, 2017