Josh Hill. Supercross winner. Yamaha factory 450 pilot. Sick of injuries and ready to prove something. Here's the MX Preview interview with Josh Hill.
JZ: When did your focus switch from Supercross to the Outdoor races?
JH: When I hurt my ankle (date?) I knew that Supercross was over. From then on I knew I should switch my training to the outdoors.
JZ: What's the biggest thing you change in your program to prepare for the outdoors?
JH: I do a lot more cardio and do it for a lot longer time. All I could really do all year is workout. This is really only my fourth, fifth time back on the bike. I did less sprint-type of stuff and more long workouts.
JZ: You adapted to Supercross very quickly, especially to the 450s with your victory last year and, barring injury, some solid results in a relatively short amount of time. Do you think your Outdoor National skills are better than your Supercross skills?
JH: I think my Outdoor skills are going to show a lot more this year since I've been hurt all year long, basically. I was just starting to get healthy and it showed since I was coming from dead last to the top five all the time. I got a lot to prove this Outdoor season since I had such a bad Supercross season with injuries.
JZ: What do you like more about the Outdoors compared to Supercross?
JH: I wouldn't say there's anything I like more about the Outdoors...Supercross is pretty cool. But there are some tracks that are hard to ride that I seem to ride well. In Supercross you pretty much hit the same jumps over and over every weekend. I'm excited to see the new schedule and the one-day format is going to be better for everyone, I think.
JZ: What aren't you looking forward to in the Outdoor series?
JH: I actually like the heat and the weather. That's one of the things that I'm pumped to see if I get to the track. That just means more guys are going to be dropping off. It's easier to pass people. Some of the tracks I'm not a fan of since they seem one-lined, fast and difficult to pass on-especially if you get a bad start. I feel like I'm always passing and that gets a little hard on some of those tracks.
JZ: Is the fan experience different at the Outdoors?
JH: It depends on what track you're at. At Glen Helen it's a little tough since the track is spread out everywhere and I'm not sure the fans can see a whole lap. Places like Washougal are so great because there are so many people and it's such a cool environment. Some races just have that Outdoor National spirit, you could say. Like, Unadilla yelling, "The other side sucks!" It's funny. If you're going to party and plan a weekend trip the Outdoors is probably the way to go.