Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Justin Hill has endured his share of bad luck over the past couple Monster Energy AMA Supercross seasons, but Hill showed his potential with a convincing win during round three of the AMA 250SX West Supercross Series at Angel Stadium on Saturday night.
Illness- and injury-free coming into the season, Hill showed that he can be a contender for the 2017 250SX West crown by bagging the win in the Anaheim II main event. Hill’s margin of victory over runner-up Aaron Plessinger was 5.3 seconds.
“The weekend ended great,” Hill said after the race. “It’s funny because I started the day feeling off, but when the main comes around and there’s points on the line, it’s go time. I let it all hang out on the track, and I was able to do it confidently. When I took over the lead I didn’t expect to get it at that time. It came faster than I thought and I just went with it. I’m excited about the rest of the season and about right now.”
Hill was able to pull clear of Plessinger as the main event continued, but Plessinger was also well clear of McElrath, who passed Forkner for third place on lap four. That’s the way they finished, with Hill collecting his first win and second podium of the year, while Plessinger and McElrath both kept their 2017 podium streaks intact.
“I would say a little bit of pressure is off [with this win],” Hill said. “It’s always tough getting that first win [of the season. Ironically enough these are the exact same scores as last year [starting the season]–fifth, second, and first. It’s been a good season so far, and I just need to stay in it. I felt off all day, but the team just did so much great work for me. Now I can go into next week looking to do it again.”
McElrath still holds the Monster Energy AMA 250SX West points lead, 70-64, over Plessinger. Hill is seven points behind McElrath, with 63 points.
“Being in the championship race has been a whole new thing for me,” McElrath said. “It’s something that we can’t be anything other than thankful for [finishing third]. We’ve still got the red plate, and we’re still in the points lead. Tonight everyone was going fast. I gave it everything I had, but tonight that was third.”
The 2017 Monster Energy Supercross season gets back to business Saturday, January 28 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The action can be seen live on FS1 starting at 6:30 p.m. PT / 9:30 p.m. ET.
2017 Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series
Angel Stadium
Anaheim, California
Results: January 21, 2017 (Round 3 of 8)
250cc Main Event
1. Justin Hill-Kaw
2. Aaron Plessinger-Yam
3. Shane McElrath-KTM
4. Austin Forkner- Kaw
5. Martin Davalos-Hus
6. Jimmy Decotis-Hon
7. Dan Reardon-Yam
8. Tyler Bowers-Yam
9. Josh Hansen-Hus
10. Jeremy Martin-Hon
2017 Monster Energy AMA 250SX West Supercross Series Points Standings (after 3 of 8 rounds)
1. Shane McElrath-70/2 wins
2. Aaron Plessinger-64
3. Justin Hill-63/1 win
4. Martin Davalos-54
5. Austin Forkner-47
6. Jimmy Decotis-42
7. Jeremy Martin-40
8. Tyler Bowers-33
9. Dan Reardon-32
10. Phil Nicoletti-26
10. Kyle Chisholm-26
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