Josh Hill has followed a tried and true career path in the sense that he graduated from the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals and moved straight into a factory team. But entering only his second full-time season, the likable Pacific Northwestern rider already finds himself aboard a 450 in the premier Supercross class.
We are one week away from Anaheim. How do you feel?
I feel good. That’s about it, just feelin’ good.
You’re looking really fast around 90% of the Yamaha test track, but I haven’t been able to see your skills in the whoop section…
(Laughs) Yeah, I actually go really fast in whoops, but I don’t like these whoops here at the Yamaha track! They feel a lot like plastic skate ramps, plus they are all bunched up in a row so I don’t really like them. I am a week from Anaheim and I know how the whoops are, so that is actually one of my strongest points. There’s no sense crashing in these crappy whoops and getting hurt with the opener this close.
We’ve seen how fast you are going this off-season. Are you excited to show 70,000 people how much you have progressed?
I am just excited to race. I raced at Perris for the Pro Invitational and I didn’t have a start hook, which put me in last off the line. I also tried passing for the lead and crashed but I still almost won. I am just ready for some Supercross. This is going to be fun. I think I just want to prove to myself that all the work I have put in is going to pay off.
You ride the 450 with a lot of aggression and it looks like you are expending a lot of energy out there. Is that the case, or do you just feel more comfortable scrubbing everything and twitching all over the place?
(Laughs) Yeah, I actually don’t feel like I am spending a lot of my energy. The bike is really good, and I think that is just how I ride. I ride with confidence; I don’t really feel like I am fighting with the bike. The bike knows where I want to put it and it goes there. That’s what I think.
What are your goals for Anaheim 1?
Mainly, just get through it. I want to do well and hopefully be able to podium.
Those are some pretty sweet moccasins you are sporting there. Did you make those at Boy Scout camp or something?
(Laughs) These things are sweet! I bought them at Target. They were only $9 and they are perfect track shoes! No sense wearing my good DC shoes and getting them jacked up in the mud!
