After a strong WSX season last year, and an impressive 2023 AMA Supercross season, Josh Hill was back with the CDR Yamaha team for WSX 2023. Hill was looking good back in blue, but bad starts hampered his results even if the riding ability is clearly there to mix it up towards the front of the pack – and he even got to battle brother Justin for a while in the third main!
We caught up with Josh after the mains to get his thoughts on the day.
Josh Hill, back at WSX and that last moto you were battling your brother again! How do you sum up the first round?
This track was, I don’t want to say it was poorly built, it was poorly executed with track markers and they didn’t allow us to race. They made all the inside corners ten metres from inside to outside, so there was no reason to go to the berms so all the little chicanes and zig-zags, they just turned it into a one-line course. I think the track builders might have thought that WSX stood for women’s supercross (smiles) I’m not sure, it was really easy.
Justin Bogle said on track walk it would be all insides, so you probably knew what was coming?
We did, I saw Chad down there trying to move stuff. It was weird, every time we went out the haybales were in a different spot. So we would come around first lap and be like, ‘oh, i guess the haybales are there.’ They were cardboard boxes and everyone was running them over. Just some things to clean up, I mean, I like the idea of card board boxes, especially on rhythm sections and stuff like that, but we gotta get better at marking the course and making it raceable. They took a perfectly good track and turned it into a goat trail.
How did you find the dirt?
That was good dirt, it was killer. Like I said, I think the track builders did a good job with the way they built the track but then when we are going inside everywhere there is no.. I don’t know… they need to stop all these little dog lanes.
How did you find adjusting to the Yamaha and a different Yamaha to what you rode last year and what you rode in AMA (different brand)?
It’s good, Yamaha is where I grew up. I was sponsored by Yamaha since I was ten years old. I take some hiatus when other things come up but I am a Yamaha boy these things are awesome and I am riding for Craig Dack racing, we got Bradley here, my mechanic Denny he came over with me from North Carolina, Bundy built engines, if you need a motor built in North Carolina, he’s the guy to hit up! I mean, I have got all the tools in place, I was just in a goat trail just riding behind, stuck in a pace, because you couldn’t go anywhere.
I feel like you look more comfortable on the Yamaha, do you just feel more comfortable on a Yamaha?
I love Yamaha, if I am going to jump a 200ft jump – I am riding a Yamaha!
On your AMA season, it was really good as well, progressively getting better and better. Obviously Justin had a podium but you weren’t that far behind him and to have two brothers in one (privateer) team doing that well must be pretty cool?
Yeah I got sixth in that one, he did really good at the end of the series, he went 5-4-3 and he continued that form tonight until he went down and bent his bike up in the third main. He was a shoe-in for the podium.
It’s been a full season of racing for you, how have you found that compared to races here and there the last few seasons?
I always ride. If I am not racing I am still riding, I am digging a jump, and even when I am home I am riding mountain bikes in the afternoon, I am riding supercross in the morning and usually going watering or prepping the track in-between times, so it’s like I do that four or five days a week, I train kids, I just love it. I have got opportunities, I thought I was done with this stuff, eight/nine years ago. I thought my days were over but I guess I am just good and should keep doing it – I surprise myself!
