Racing

Justin Hill's Day At Washougal Motocross | MX 2016

Justin Hill went 8-4 for 5th overall at Washougal, check out his race day in photos here.

July 26, 2016

Team Troy Lee Designs/KTM Justin Hill injured his back in March at Detroit Supercross but was back racing at his home outdoor national in Washougal. You could literally tell where Justin was on the track at all times by the amount of fans that were screaming for him.Photo by Preston Jordan

Justin has been at his home track practicing in Yoncalla, Oregon for a couple weeks to get him prepared for the tricky dirt that Washougal offers. Monty (his dad) will prep the track in the morning for Justin and he will ride his two 30 minute motos right on his own property. If you are ever headed on Interstate 5 South from Portland near Yoncalla, take a look on your right and you will see the picturesque track of the Hill's.Photo by Preston Jordan

Justin knows the Washougal track well, but his practice times didn’t reflect that. His ninth “was mediocre” as he stated, but seeing that he has been out a while we think qualifying went pretty good.Photo by Preston Jordan

Gerogia Lindsey of NBC Sports interviews Hill before the first moto. Being the hometown hero means there is added pressure as hundreds of local fans and family are at the race watching you! Hill took it all in stride and thought it was like having a great big family out for some dirt bike riding.Photo by Preston Jordan

In the first moto Hill started around 15th and worked his way up to eighth by the checkered flag. The Washougal track was tough to pass in most areas, but Hill had very unique lines going from outside to inside to cut across the ruts. He found low lines near the edges of the track on certain jumps, which put him back on the ground driving forward quicker. He made several moves on riders this way and was fun to watch all day.Photo by Preston Jordan

Second moto Hill got a gift with a pileup just behind him after the downhill in the switchback section. He was up near his teammate Jessy Nelson for about half the race, but faded back near the end as the lack of intensity of racing caught up with him. For a rider to land in the top five in the highly competitive 250 class his first race back (from injury), we wouldn’t be surprised to see Hill on the podium at the next round (Unadilla).Photo by Preston Jordan