Josh Hill To Fill In For Justin Barcia At Seattle Supercross
Cycle News Staff | April 4, 2018
Josh Hill To Fill In For Justin Barcia At Seattle Supercross – Josh Hill will fill in for Justin Barcia on the Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Team at this weekend’s Seattle Supercross. Barcia, who injured his hand at the Arlington Supercross in Texas, was hoping to be ready to resume racing this weekend but felt he needs more time before he is ready. He hopes to be back for the Salt Lake City Supercross.
Josh Hill To Fill In For Justin Barcia At Seattle Supercross
Taking his place in Seattle, however, will be former Yamaha Factory Team rider Josh Hill, whose racing career was cut short by an injury. He hasn’t raced SX since 2015. He made his professional start with Yamaha in 2006.
“Getting a call from Factory Yamaha to come and race Seattle came as a total surprise to me!” said Hill. “I was just on my way home from winning an AMA National Snow Bike Championship and I was actually planning to race Seattle on my own bike, in my own truck. I got a call from Keith McCarty asking if I wanted to fill-in for Justin Barcia and of course, I was honored and shocked that they would think of me. It’s pretty surreal to come up out of retirement and get a call from Factory Yamaha to go racing. And it’s even cooler that Factory Yamaha is where I started my career in 2006 when I was 16 and to be doing it now, 12 years later, coming back to my home race in Seattle is pretty exciting.”
Barcia said, “It’s been a week since I started riding again and I’m progressing pretty well every day. I was shooting to race this weekend in Seattle but it’s just not realistic. My hand hasn’t progressed fast enough, unfortunately. I went to California last week and did some MX testing, which was good to build some strength and I’m back riding SX now. I’ve been road biking, mountain biking and running – my normal training that I always do – and in my free time, I’ve started building a new outdoor track to keep my mind busy. I’m really shooting to race Salt Lake City – that’s the goal –but we’ll see how the next week goes and how I progress.”
Cooper Webb says he’s ready to race in Seattle following his shoulder injury.
“The week off has been really beneficial for me, I’ve gotten a full week of outdoor prep in and it gave my shoulder some time to rest and get closer to 100%. I’ve also been back on the SX track this week and I’m feeling great. The time off has been most beneficial for my shoulder and I’m feeling much more confident heading into Seattle! I’m ready to finish this Supercross series off with a bang!”
Josh Hill To Fill In For Justin Barcia At Seattle Supercross
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