Justin got the first win of his career at the 2014 San Diego Supercross. Photo by: Hoppenworld
Heading into 2014 Seattle Supercross, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Justin Hill sat fourth in the 250SX Western Regional Championship, but after scoring his third podium of the year, the #35 jumped passed his teammate Dean Wilson and into 3rd. The Yoncalla, Oregon native was beaten up pretty good from some gnarly crashes at the last round in Houston, but you could not tell while watching him ride.
In the main event, Justin grabbed a top three start and spent most of the main event treating his Pacific Northwest fans to a gnarly back-and-forth battle with Rockstar/KTM’s Jason Anderson. For much of the main, the #35 and #17 weren’t out of touch with the leader, Troy Lee Designs/Honda’s Cole Seely, but while they went back-and-forth, Seely checked out for the win.
After the race was over, we caught up with Justin in the pits to ask him about his night in Seattle. You can check out what Justin told us about his first, and possibly last, race at the Seattle SX below.
Third place tonight at your first Seattle SX. Was it a good night for you?
It’s a decent night. I didn’t have the best of weeks heading into it. I had a big crash—actually a couple of them—in Houston and another big crash at press day here in Seattle. I’m pretty beat up and pretty sore, but I got through the night. That’s all that really matters. I got through the night healthy, and I got on the box so that’s just a bonus. We didn’t get the job done with a win, but we have a long road ahead of us and a lot of chances to get that win. I’m excited for the night. I’m excited for the team. At least I put it on the box and made everyone a little bit happy, I guess. I did it for the home fans a little bit. I know it wasn’t a win which would have been cool, but it is what it is. Now I get to go home, I’m healthy and I’ll keep working.
With you riding East in your rookie season last year, this was obviously your first chance to race supercross in the Pacific Northwest. I know you’re actually from Central Oregon, but did the hometown vibe tonight feel any different than any other race?
It really didn’t feel any different other than just the positive vibe with all my friends around the pits and stuff. It just put me in a good mood. Even when I was struggling and all beaten up, my friends were like, “Hey, man, it’s cool. Just go out and have fun. We all love you.” So that’s kind of what lifted me up and got me through the night. It was tough. Every lap was a little bit more painful ’cause I was taking chances and risks battling with Jason [Anderson] to go for the win. I was like, “Ah man, this is gnarly. Now I’m really sore.” (laughs) Now, though, we’re going to go home and try to gain even more. We want to be on top at the last race of the season in Vegas.
Until I just saw you limping, I would have never been able to tell you were hurting. You were so aggressive out there tonight and looked like, if you could make the passes early on, you might have been able to check out. Do you feel like you might have gotten a little inpatient early on and used up too much energy?
You know, at the beginning, I felt great. I was just clicking the laps off and being consistent, and then I started to try to push the track a little bit too much. I knew that Jason was coming, and when I tried to push the track too much, I started making mistakes. The track was really gnarly, and you had to be smooth. That’s something I’m going to remember, and now I get to reflect on it. It was a tough night, but I’ll remember it for sure.
Yeah, it was gnarly out there but definitely not a typical Seattle SX. The dirt was almost perfect tonight.
It was good. I mean, man, we had no rain. How can you complain about Seattle when you have no rain? It was awesome. It was a great night of racing and I loved it. I heard this was the last Seattle SX, but I hope not.
Like you, being a Pacific Northwest guy, that would not make me happy either. Thanks for talking to us tonight, Justin. Congrats on the podium, and we’ll see you in Vegas in a few weeks.
See you there, thank you.
