JUSTIN HILL | GRIT-217 | 450SX

JUSTIN HILL | GRIT-217 | SX 450

Team Tedder's Justin Hill would exhibit fluidity amongst practice sessions in East Rutherford, New Jersey; almost as if he were relieved to have a clean slate of laps to compete upon, and seek to excel through the main event that was to come. For practice, the track immediately began to break down; with the whoops nearly decimated as he and the field would jump through them halfway into the first timed session! Tripling his way into the rhythm section after the first-corner, the ability to compress and time his way over the third obstacle (to land) would be remarkably impressive; carrying a sense of speed that translated to fourth in the final running order prior to heading into heat one. Sprinting by the mechanic's area on the opening lap, it would be difficult for any competitor to recognize the memo's that were written upon the pit board by their mechanic's, though the former 250cc SX Champion knew he had the speed to further himself from Suzuki's Kyle Chisholm who trailed. These rhythm lanes were very technical, and not only because of the array of ruts that were beneath the obstacles; but by their degree of slope, which allowed little room for error upon landing. He and Honda's Colt Nichols were nearly synonymous on the latter segments of the raceway, contesting one another by way of only seconds as they neared the fifth minute of action. He would be keeping an eye on Ken Roczen who led, hoping to pace the opponent in a towing manner as they sped toward the checkered flag. Eventually, he would arrive at the concluding point of the moto, where he dashed to the finish-line face and avoided a problematic "pause" at the bottom by way of tremendous "g-outs" amongst the ruts...ending the race in third. His start to the main event would foster a position near ninteenth, which wasn't favorable in this mud-ridden soil; and bar banging was destined to ensue as the best in the world strove for podium positioning. His swing-arm would nearly be clipped by the front tires of those behind him, in the left-handed corner following the whoops. But the vision of the Oregon native was solely focused on the straightaway ahead, with little acknowledgment of anything other than the turn that preceded the finish-line. He was cognizant of how far Oklahoma's Nicholswas behind him though around the seventh and eighth minute(s), doubling the "SX" triple and hearing a faint engine rev of his opponent in the patterns of raceway that he'd just went through. His mechanic would encourage him past the halfway point, where the track was marred beyond belief and the KTM athlete would be forced to remain in full control while nearing the final stages of the moto. Justin Barcia was leading, and the idea of catching his adversaries would empower him to climb to the finish-line with every ounce of power possible within his Team Tedder engine. Ultimately Hill would prove that his roots of riding in the Pacific Northwest were legitimate and allowed him to sustain a prominent pace throughout the muddiest main we'd seen in quite sometime...leaving him ninth, ahead of Dean Wilson, as the checkered flag would wave.

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