Hill Set to Return in San Diego
Thursday, February 7, 2013 | 10:55 AM
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PrintRCH Press Release
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – RCH Racing’s Josh Hill doesn’t hide the excitement when talking about his return to competition this weekend in Round 6 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
Hill missed most of the last two seasons due to injuries. He was dealt another setback in this year’s season opener at Anaheim five weeks ago when he sustained a fractured right hand in practice. The talented 28-year-old Oregon native has now been sidelined the last 39 SX Main Events.
That changes Saturday when Hill returns to the seat of the No. 75 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing/Bel-Ray/Suzuki RM-Z 450. Team owner and 15-time champion Ricky Carmichael is pleased his rider is healthy again and ready for competition.
“I’m excited to get Josh back on a bike, said Carmichael. “I know it’s been a long month for him. He had a fantastic off-season.
“When you get back on the track, it’s a great feeling because you have something to work for. You’re not just sitting there twiddling your thumbs at home and recovering. It’s almost like therapy for a rider.”
The upbeat Hill has used the last five weeks aggressively rehabbing his injured hand with various bone strengthening and traditional recovery techniques. Two days of practice on the bike this week will serve as a final tune-up for Saturday’s event.
"I may have some fatigue in the hand,” he said. “I think just being able to have that grip for the whole 20 laps might be the only issues. I hope that I don’t have to compensate anything to make sure that the hand will be OK for the whole 20 laps.
San Diego will be the perfect setting for Hill’s return. In his two previous starts at Qualcomm Stadium, he posted top-10 finishes including runner-up in 2010.
“I’ve always liked racing in San Diego,” said Hill. “The dirt is like the stuff that we practice on. It should be a good race for me. I’d like to get a west coast race underneath my belt before we head east. Just to have that comfort level of riding on the same type of soil that I’ve been practicing on and have the bike setup for is cool.”
Teammate Brock Tickle (No. 20 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing/Bel-Ray/Suzuki RM-Z450) is looking to break into the top 10 in the 450SX Class point standings. Back-to-back finishes of eighth (Oakland) and ninth (Anaheim) have vaulted Tickle to within one point of 10th.
Timed qualifying and Heat Race finishes will be areas of focus this weekend. Through the first five rounds this season, Tickle has yet to have a Main Event start inside the top 10. His season best of 11th came last week at Anaheim.
Tickle looks to improve off his 18th-place finish in last year’s Main Event -- his first outing at Qualcomm Stadium.
“Our game plan won’t change much,” said Tickle. “We need to continue to work hard in practice to get a good gate selection for the Heat Race. We’ve been so-so in practice and I need to improve early in the day on track. I need to have a better start in the Heat Race. I haven’t had one all year. I want to have a good Heat Race and, hopefully, carry that over into the Main.”
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I'll believe it when I see it
He will not make the main ! LOL !
Hansen has a better shot or J-Law !!! LOL !
Also coming to a National MX track near you this summer, J Law!!!
Oh boy! Oh boy!
Im happy for him and wish him well but at the same time, I cant help but think he is days away from another injury... Its just his luck...
Good for Hill.... hope dude can make it through the night. Another injury and I think its time to permanently hang out with his buddy Hansen on the side lines...
Man, the JLaw stuff is getting comical....Some dudes are saying he is going to be 2013 outdoor champ???? He isnt even "for sure" racing and its probably all a publicity stunt....Dude wants to comeback and race, I say go for it....But some of these JLovers are frickin' hysterical.....Will he even pass AMA physical???
In all honesty I just hope J Law can come back and be somewhat competitive mainly for the reason to light a fire under the Ryans.
While I am a huge fan of both RV and RD I really want to see a bit more emotion from both and you know who always brought it out from both of them best...
However I really hope J Law cleans up his act some. Party it up and all is just fine, but the fighting and trouble with the law has to stay away.
Either way I love a good J Law story!
I can't believe that in their OWN press release someone spelled Tickle's name 'Brock', which I've seen Racer X do too. Hey, it was BROC Glover, BROC Hepler, BROC Tickle, OK?
I believe Hill an come back and find his wings again.
Damn I had no idea he´s already 28 years old. I always pictured him as the injured/coming off injury talent but his best days for a pro career are almost over. Hanging out with Hansen and this other bum is not gonna help him.
Breaking news--Josh Hill is hurt again.
Josh is 23 not 28.
I just hope he races and finishes the main event.
I like Josh but the dude gets hurt too much.
He is 23.
Good luck Josh,play it safe.I hope you qualify through the day and make it to the show.
I named my son BROCK and soon to be an Officer in the Air Force....just thought I'd say that lol.
He only has to hang on for 14 laps...8 in his heat and 6 in the LCQ. Sorry, I had to go there.
I was thinking there is no way he is 28. The person who wrote this should be fired ASAP, unless it was Kenny Watson, in which case we understand :)
Get 'em Josh! F**k all you naysayers!!
I don't have high hopes for Josh. He didn't do anything in the 250 class. I was at the Minneapolis SX when he got his win, and that was a great performance, but he didn't prove much that night. Reed was sick and crashed out early on, and Kdub got a bad start. In 2010 after JS/CR dropped out with injuries, he was not winning any races against Dungey and Villopoto, he was just using his consistency to stay in the points. After midseason he was an afterthought. He makes poor decisions off the track. Frankly, I am amazed RC hired him.
Stay home and out of the way !
Since JLaw is constantly mentioned, I'll throw in a tidbit. He's scary fast and if he was surrounded by good people he'd be a title threat.
I'm happy that Hill has such tenacity and drive, but I think making the main would be a minor miracle. He should be commended for how far he's come, but I think he should accept that he will never reach the level he was riding at before and just stick to riding for fun and not racing competitively. Anyone who's seen his backflip crash knows how bad he broke himself. To even be walking again after that is amazing, and to be riding a bike on a Supercross track again is something I would have though impossible. He has friends and family that care about him, and that's more important than racing dirt bikes.
There is NO WAY that Hill doesn't make the main if he stays on two wheels. Dude is too fast. He wouldn't be on Ricky's team if he didn't still have it. I think after a few weeks he can beat Tickle. Call me crazy...
I have no comment on this one ,Lets just see what happens then we can throw some fire in the ice!