Interview: Josh Hill – WSX in Cardiff
Josh Hill had a strong first round at the WSX in Cardiff and blew some minds when he did the quad jump on Saturday night – and inspired Roczen to hit it! We caught up the natural talent aftet to get his thoughts on the night.
Josh, a tough night I’m sure with back to back to back races but you were in the mix for a while how are you feeling?
Yeah, I think I ended up fifth overall, that was my goal, I wanted to end up top five so happy with that. But I’m bummed that so many of my friends got hurt tonight, it was heart-breaking. It wasn’t a hard section (the step-on, step-off), just something was happening, it was a little bit slippery but I don’t know. Aside from that it was a great night and for the series, I hope everyone all over the world takes note, this is a good show.
Talk about the the quad you were busting out, you the first guy to do it and made Roczen believe – how was it?
I wasn’t the first guy, Pellegrini tried it yesterday and framed it and then Luke Clout my teammate did it, and they told me on the line, so I went out and did it in the free practice but I kept sliding out in the last turn, carrying to much speed and then washed out! So both times I didn’t get a good lap time, it was a fun weekend though.
How do you know what speed to hit that the first time, it’s a guessing game I would imagine? But you were nailing the timing straight away!
Over the years I’ve just had a really good nack of timing, I won’t usually go for something unless I am 100% sure I am going to make it. I hadn’t seen anyone jump it but I heard Luke (Clout) did it so I was like, well, I gotta go do it!
How did you find the whole event two day format, being in Cardiff, how did you find the WSX style?
Cardiff is sick! I have been here since Tuesday, all the restaurants, the people are nice – it’s a fun atmosphere. I’d come here for vacation, it looks like a good place to have a good time! But I gotta stay focused and try to get a little bit better next time.
What are your plans for the 2023?
Well, we are still finalising them but hoping to be my brother’s teammate on team Tedder, I probably won’t do the entire series but I will do select rounds and see how it goes. My main thing is free riding and video content, but I still love racing and when there’s a good opportunity to race, like racing here for the CDR Monster Energy Yamaha team, this is a world class team, so I do my best to put my best foot forward and make these guys proud.
The gear and bike looked cool – maybe the nicest looking team in pits!
It might be the nicest look team in the world! Fox kit, bike looks beautiful, we have some titanium blue springs – I love it!
It’s pretty impressive how you can just jump into these series and AMA and be so competitive, are you surprised at that or do you just feel comfortable doing supercross?
If I know I have a good opportunity and I can capitilise on and train and prepare, I know I still have what it takes to be in the mix. I just wish I had a little bit more, maybe in the next week or two I will get a little bit more and be able to run with the front pack. Last time I was in Oz I was on the podium, that was three years ago, but we will see if I can do it again.
Interview: Jonathan McCready
Images: WSX
