Page 26 - Issue-35

JUSTIN HILL
250 SX / OKLAND
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> Justin Hill came storming into the fifth round of action at Oakland Coliseum with an almost uncon- tainable amount of momentum; the Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider put together two main events wins on the trot, and has really caught fire now that the season is kicking into high gear. Hill managed to win the previous two races with a pair of come-from-behind victories in which he stole the victory from the points leader, Shane McElrath, in last gasp fashion. The buckets of rain leading up to the Saturday afternoon gate drop created a rutted, technical, and incessantly deteriorating track that would play
to the strengths of the Washington native. Despite being affected by a slight sickness throughout the day, Hill showcased his unique natural talent and technical ability during qualifying practice by setting the fastest lap time by approximately one full second ahead of runner-up, Martin Davalos. Hill got off to a fairly solid start in the second heat race as he settled into fourth position behind Aaron Plessing- er. He wasn’t able to match the speed of his championship rival as the Yamaha rider quickly began to make some moves toward the front of the pack, leaving Hill momentarily wavering in fourth position. He eventually settled into a groove and began to close in on the podium, setting one of the only
sub one minute lap times of the race in the process. As the laps wound down, he reeled in McElrath and Decotis to make it a three-way battle for second position, but he would fortunately be gifted the position as the Honda and KTM came together after the whoops section. Therefore, Hill took over the second spot a handful of seconds behind Plessinger and eventually cruised to the checkered flag to grab a second place as well as a good gate pick for the main event. Hill didn’t get the best jump out of the gate in the big show, but he was calm under pressure and chose to hug the inside line heading into the first rhythm section. He was assisted by an untimely mistake from his teammate, Austin For- kner, as the rookie caused a pileup entering the second corner. Hill stuck to the very top of the berm and ended up coming out of the mayhem in second position just behind the Rockstar Husqvarna of Martin Davalos. The Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider wasted no time upping the intensity as he tracked down Davalos before the conclusion of the opening lap, promoting himself to the lead straight away. From that point onward, Hill rode his own race with a clear track ahead of him and utilized his supe- rior technical abilities in order to build a gap on the rest of the pack. The race was relatively common- place for the Washington native throughout, except on lap twelve when he stuffed his front tire into a piece of wood that laid in the main line, forcing him into a small tip over; he managed to keep his bike running following the crash, but he ended up giving away the nearly nine second gap that he had worked to achieve over the course of the race. Hill wasn’t phased by the mistake as he found a way to slip right back into his familiar rhythm, pulling the gap on the second placed Davalos up to nearly ten seconds before the checkered flag was flown. Hill was incredibly stoked to continue his string of victories, simultaneously snagging the red plate from McElrath in the process. The Pro Circuit Kawa- saki rider will be aiming to continue his winning ways as the series heads to Dallas for the sixth round of the championship next weekend.
26 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 5, 2017