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Josh Hill Takes First AMA Supercross Win
Category: Racing News
Date: 22 Mar 2008
Time: 16:04:47 -0500Comments
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Josh Hill scored his first career AMA Supercross victory in Minneapolis, Minn. on Saturday night, March 15. The teenage sensation from Oregon did it decisively too, by posting the second-quickest practice time, finishing third in his heat race, and then leading 17 of 20 laps in the main event on his YZ450F. Meanwhile L&M Racing’s Chad Reed, suffering from the flu on his birthday, made a poor start and took over six laps to work his way into second behind Hill before crashing and ultimately finishing seventh. Despite his misfortune though, Reed still maintains a healthy 17-point lead in the series championship over Kevin Windham. It’s truly special when a rider wins his first Supercross race, and the 40,982 fans in the Metrodome in Minneapolis will long remember Hill’s aggressive charge to the front. When the gate dropped for the 20-lap main event Ryan Dungey grabbed the holeshot with Hill in second and Reed back in fifth. Both Yamaha riders immediately began working their way forward, with Hill catching and then passing Dungey for the lead with a decisive block pass on lap four. Three laps later though, Reed had battled all the way to Hill’s back wheel before losing control in a whoops section and sliding out at the next turn, stalling his YZ’s engine and dropping back to ninth. While Reed still maintains command of the championship, the evening was all about Josh Hill. “This is what I’ve dreamed of when I was four or five years old until now,” he said elatedly. “I just couldn’t be happier. Everybody at Yamaha put faith in me, the whole family’s put everything into this and it’s paying off. I’m just trying to make everyone proud and do it for myself too.” Yamaha Supercross team manager Jim Perry added, “I am glad to see that Josh achieved one of his biggest goals by winning a main event and I am looking forward to the rest of the season. Now he just needs to be more consistent at chipping away at Millsaps and Short, who are both within reach with seven races to go.”
2008 AMA Supercross Points 3/15/08 Pos. Rider Points
1 Chad Reed – Yamaha 237
2 Kevin Windham 220
3 Andrew Short 172
4 Davi Millsaps 164
5 Tim Ferry 137
6 Josh Hill – Yamaha 135
7 Nathan Ramsey – Yamaha 134
8 David Vuillemin 115
9 Paul Carpenter 97
10 Nick Wey 95