Justin Hill clinches 250SX West championship
Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Justin Hill clinched an emotional first career title and Pro Circuit’s 20th Monster Energy Supercross championship after racing to a third-place result inside Rice-Eccles Stadium. With a last turn pass, Hill propelled himself ahead of his competition to collect the No. 1 plate one round early. Teammate Austin Forkner returned to racing after sitting out one round due to injury, scoring sixth after earning his third holeshot of the season on his Kawasaki KX250F.
At the start of the main event, Hill was focused on maintaining his double-digit points lead as the riders faced a technical track. He started fifth and quickly moved into fourth after just one lap. When his championship rival went down on Lap 8, Hill knew he had a chance to clinch the title. He rode solidly until the final lap of the night when he was passed — a pass that took away the chance to clinch — but in the final turn Hill made his move and raced into third, giving him enough points to earn his first-career championship.
“We’ve worked so hard for this and I know I’ve encountered bumps along the way, which makes this championships so much sweeter,” said Hill. “To get to this place it takes so many people that are behind the scenes, from the team to family to friends that are all pushing me to be at my best. This wouldn’t be possible without each and every one of them.”
Forkner was excited to be back racing, which could be seen as he grabbed another holeshot in the main event. He settled into second place and was riding well, but on Lap 13 went down in the whoops. He got up as quickly as possible and was able to salvage a respectable sixth-place finish in his return.
“If I can take away anything from tonight I am really happy with how I rode overall,” said Forkner. “I made a small mistake that led to a bigger get off, but it could have definitely been worse because those whoops were eating up a lot of people. I’ll take the sixth and looking forward to my first race in Vegas in two weeks.”
250SX Class Main Event Results
1. Shane McElrath (KTM)
2. Mitchell Oldenburg (KTM)
3. Justin Hill (Kawasaki)
4. Martin Davalos (Husqvarna)
5. Jimmy Decotis (Honda)
6. Austin Forkner (Kawasaki)
7. Dan Reardon (Yamaha)
8. Hayden Mellross (Yamaha)
9. Kyle Chisholm (Honda
10. Tyler Bowers (Yamaha)
250SX Class Points, After 8 of 9 Rounds
1. Justin Hill (Kawasaki), 180
2. Shane McElrath (KTM), 154
3. Aaron Plessinger (Yamaha), 143
4. Martin Davalos (Husqvarna), 142
5 .James Decotis (Honda), 122
6. Austin Forkner (Kawasaki), 105
7. Dan Reardon (Yamaha), 96
8. Kyle Chisholm (Honda), 85
9. Cole Martinez (Yamaha), 73
10. Mitchell Oldenburg (KTM), 60