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JOSH HILL | GRIT-218 | 450SX

May 2, 2023 · Cullin Park

JOSH HILL | GRIT-218 | 450SX

JOSH HILL | GRIT-218 | SX 450

Knowing the championship contenders, (i.e. Eli Tomac, Cooper Webb, and Chase Sexton) would be feuding over the maximal amount of points possible, Team Tedder's Josh Hill believed that the action was destined to be fierce as he rolled onto the raceway in Nashville. The deceiving soil of practice would have many athletes contemplating tire changes as they went through untimed and time(d) qualification sessions, but by all means, would he excel through every facet of the challenging raceway. Climbing atop the dragon's back time and time again, he would prove as to why he's one of the best in the world, which translated to a bid being gathered for the second heat of the afternoon. As the thirty-second board would go sideways, he focused on obtaining as strong of a start as possible, despite being alongside that of Ken Roczen, Justin Barcia, and Chase Sexton. The pace from the inception of these laps would be prolific, where he blitzed the whoops as strong as possible (on the right side) to set him up for a significant square-up in the corner that followed. Sprinting across the straightaway with his chassis tracking well, he had to be mindful of the ever persistent Shane McElrath , who was just bike lengths behind as he charged toward the halfway point. They would only cross the finish line seconds apart from each other, keeping their vision pinpointed on the ruts that had cupped both the "SX" triple and step-on/step-off thereafter. He then engaged in a prominent pace toward the checkered flag, that would be rivaled by the aforementioned North Carolina native. Landing from the final double with an eventual fifth-place in hand, he would be anticipating quite the array of battles for the main event. Once the finale began, it was Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton who took the lead and attempted to break away from the field. He would look ahead, and determine his velocities based on the lead group of the pack; especially when bursting through the sand section and toggling between inside and outside lines. His attitude remained fierce despite being challenged by Kansas' Kevin Moranz for what seemed like an eternity, but he and his Team Tedder KTM machine would be resilient amongst the strenuous battles throughout the rhythm lanes. Up and over the "SX" triple with four laps remaining, he could see the likes of eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth behind him in the section(s) beforehand; which was a catalyst for him to power to the finish-line with every ounce of effort left. Ultimately finalized in tenth, his excellent showing in Nashville would be coupled with his brother's awesome performance (i.e. Justin HIll), to create an extraordinary showcase of results on behalf of the Team Tedder unit!

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