Page 38 - Issue45

JUSTIN HILL
250 SX / 3RD
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> With all of the chaos looming around the globe during this day and age, many people are escaping their television screens and news outlets to find a bit of relief from the world- wide turmoil. They’re eagerly searching for something to clear their minds, and provide
a bit of peace for their viewing pleasure. But with that being said, you may want to take precaution prior to tuning into the AMA Supercross Series, as their has been nothing but bar banging, and aggressive chaos in the West Coast 250 Championship, and it doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon. With riders such as Justin Hill taking part in these epic events, there is truly no shortage of testosterone and aggressiveness each time they take the track at a particular event. And with the series closing near, the mercury levels are nearing a boiling point. The action couldn’t get any hotter inside Rice-Eccles Stadium, as the 250 A group pushed frantically around the track during the opening practice. There’s never any caution light mentality, as it’s either a full on stop or sprint with competitors such as these. As he would throw down lap after lap, crossing the finish line triple and glancing toward the scoring board, he knew the matter placed in front of him would be huge, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. With his championship literally looming at the ends of his finger tips, he knew he must be reserved, yet willing to pull the trigger, and be as mature as ever when vying for this title. He began his heated run with a solid fourth place position during the opening laps, riding within his limits, but enough to keep his pace within the train. A mere 3.8 seconds off the lead a few laps in, he knew whom he had to stay close to, as he yanked tearoff after tearoff, glancing through his peripheral vision over each pause of airtime. With the chaos swarming frantically all around the visor of his helmet, he saw the number 23 go down in the horizon, and he knew what had just occurred. One of his biggest rivals had now fallen out of the championship and it was his to lose. Hitting each section with a little bit of hesitation, he was riding well beyond his years, keeping his foundational technique first, and pushing him into third every lap consistently. He knew as he was getting insanely close to the checkered flag, that he was well within its grasp, as long as he could keep the pres- sure from Martin Davalos at bay. It truly came down to the last corner, where Davalos crept inside, but the heart of the Northwest native prevailed, sending him a mere fender past the veteran through the air of the stripe. He had won the title! Both family and team alike, ec- static to their core, couldn’t believe what had just transpired. From all of us fans and industry alike, we want to congratulate Justin on such an accomplishment!
38 GRITMOTO • APRIL 23, 2017