Yamaha's Josh Hill toasted a fine maiden AMA-SX triumph in front of almost 41,000 fans at the Metrodome in Minneapolis last Saturday for round eleven of seventeen in the 2008 championship. The 18 year old steered his YZ450F to the chequered flag ahead of Ryan Dungey and Kevin Windham. Series leader Chad Reed was a protagonist in the Main Event but a crash dropped him down the race order and he finished seventh for the second week in succession.
Reed, who was struggling with sickness and sat out second practice, was hounding the back wheel of early leader Hill as the Yamahas formation-flew in the first half of the sprint. The Australian then made an uncharacteristic mistake at the end of the whoops section, and his slip caused him to plummet down the leader-board to ninth position. Hill was then free to continue his fine rhythm to the finish line.
"I knew that I had to get going because somewhere in the mix, Chad would be there," said Hill, a first ever debut-winner in Minneapolis who is currently negotiating his first season in the SX class. "I was just in the right place at the right time. Chad made a mistake, and I just cruised along to victory, pretty much. After I broke away from Dungey, I kind of just was able to get into a smooth pace and keep it going."
"Chad had problems," he continued. "I haven't beaten Chad straight-up. Has anybody? He's gnarly! It's not going to be easy at all to do this again, and with my rollercoaster-ride season... if I keep my track-record, I should be 17th next weekend! But I think my program has really improved to a point where I'm mentally in the game a lot more when I show up to the race. Before, I'd really work hard during the week, and I'd do my homework, but I'd show up at the race and either be drained or just mentally not focused and I think Ryan Hughes has really helped me out with that."
As for Reed it was the first time he has missed the podium for two races this season. His error also sliced his advantage in the overall standings down to 17 points with six rounds left to run. AMA Motocross Champion Grant Langston is still unable to compete due to an eye problem.
Another Yamaha-mounted teenager, Tyler Bowers, was sixth in the East Coast Lites division on the YZ250F.
The AMA-SX (also an FIM World Championship) campaign now enjoys a break for the first time this year. The teams and riders will have two weeks to recollect over Easter weekend before the trip to the Rogers Centre in Toronto on March 29th.
Crowd: 40,922
Weather: Dry
2008 AMA-SX Minneapolis, MN 17/03/2008 Race 1 - 20 Laps
1 Josh Hill Yamaha USA 16'7.800
2 Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 0'5.397
3 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0'12.134
4 Andrew Short Honda USA 0'14.319
5 Thomas Hahn Kawasaki USA 0'24.287
6 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'28.537
7 Chad Reed Yamaha AUS 0'31.192
8 David Vuillemin Suzuki FRA 0'32.536
9 Travis Preston Kawasaki USA 0'33.729
10 Nathan Ramsey Yamaha USA -1 Laps
11 Paul Carpenter Honda USA -1 Laps
12 Charles Summey Yamaha USA -1 Laps
13 Eric Sorby Honda USA -1 Laps
14 Heath Voss Honda USA -1 Laps
15 Nicholas Wey KTM USA -1 Laps
Rider Standings 15/03/2008
1. Chad Reed Yamaha AUS 237
2. Kevin Windham Honda USA 220
3. Andrew Short Honda USA 172
4. David D Millsaps Honda USA 164
5. Tim Ferry Kawasaki USA 137
6. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 135
7. Nathan Ramsey Yamaha USA 134
8. David Vuillemin Suzuki FRA 115
9. Paul Carpenter Honda USA 96
10. Nicholas Wey KTM USA 95
11. Charles Summey Yamaha USA 81
12. Heath Voss Honda USA 74
13. Mike Alessi Suzuki USA 69
14. Jacob Marsack Honda USA 61
15. Eric Sorby Honda USA 55
23. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 38
36. Broc Hepler Yamaha USA 3
Manufacturer Standings 15/03/2008
1. Yamaha 249
2. Honda 235
3. Kawasaki 199
4. Suzuki 164
5. KTM 95
- Yamaha Racing -
