The full story of Josh Hill’s devastating injury just as his career was skyrocketing and his long road to recovery. After a breakout Rookie season in 2008, Josh Hill’s career came to an abrupt halt in 2010 when he shattered his right femur, pelvis, and humerus attempting an 80-foot backflip while training for X Games. After numerous surgeries, Josh’s complications continued as he developed Compartment Syndrome in his opposite leg leaving him paralyzed from the knee down. Hear the full story of Josh’s persistence will and determination to get back on the bike and the support he’s found with the Dodge/Sycuan RCH Racing Team as he comes back against all odds to sit in 15th place in the 2013 Supercross season! Incredible comeback!

It’s been a busy weekend in the world of off-road sport here in Europe and across the pond in the US of A. Here’s what the riders had to say about their racing at various events around the world.

Steven Lenoir – French Championship: “It’s been a great day for me. Two 35-minute motos on a difficult, rutted track is just what I needed in preparation for the next round of the British Championship at Milton Park. I’ve been working hard on improving my starts and it paid off today, I nearly holeshotted the super-final against the 450′s! A big thanks to my team, they’ve been working really hard to produce me a fantastic bike.

Danny McCanney – National Off Road Championship: “That was a very good, enjoyable, event. I made it difficult for myself by crashing on a tight off-camber corner in the very first run. My back brake was bent backwards so I had no brake for the rest of the run and lost 30 seconds on David straight away. After that my pace was good and I was unlucky to just miss out on the runner-up. On day two I was on average just 5-seconds behind David on each lap, except one where I overshot a corner. So again I was very happy with my speed.

“The event was great training for the coming three weeks as well, as the going was hard pack, dry and dusty so with the upcoming Spanish championship this weekend and then the two EWC rounds in Spain and Portugal I’m well prepared.”

Broc Tickle - Salt Lake City Supercross: “It was a solid start in the Main until I went down,” said Tickle. “I was riding ninth and about to pass Andrew Short but skipped over a couple of the whoops and crashed pretty good. So I got up, got in behind Trey Canard and just started picking guys off that I had lost positions to earlier.”

Josh Hill - Salt Lake City Supercross: “I got a decent start in the Main and made a few quick passes to gain some spots. I got up into the top-10 early and that helped. The race start was so hard if you were starting outside of the first few gates because it was such a short straightaway and tight left-hand turn. Guys would just bang into each other. Riders with the first eight gate picks chose the inside. It was a battle.”

Jake Weimer – Salt Lake City Supercross: “It was not the result I wanted,” said Weimer. “I have a big fanbase at this race, growing up pretty close to here, and I felt good for the main event. I got a great jump but that all went away when we all came together in the first turn. I did my best to come through, but it wasn’t how I wanted to end the night.”

Tyla Rattray – Salt Lake City Supercross: “The day started off good,” said Rattray. “But I tangled with guys off the start and came around last. It was really hard to pass on the track because the dirt was slippery due to all the pebbles and rocks. Eighth was as far as I could get. I’m looking forward to Vegas.”

Martin Davalos – Salt Lake City Supercross: “I was really excited for the main event because I felt good all day,” said Davalos. “The bike was working really good and I charged to the end to get on the podium. I’m happy but I feel like I could have been battling for the win had I got a better start. The whoops were super tricky this week and really separated guys.”

Zach Osborne – Salt Lake City Supercross: “I had a great day, actually,” Osborne said. “Up until I fell in the main everything was going really well. That kind of turned the whole deal. I just need to soldier-up and fight for a great finish in Vegas. I have nothing to lose and I plan to just go for it and try to get up on the podium.”

Eli Tomac – Salt Lake City Supercross: “I started the race second but just blew the race in the whoops,” said Tomac, who leads the category with four victories this year. “It was a section that just got me almost every time around. There were a couple of passes where I got through them ok, but there were others where I got wild and out of control. I was like, ‘I can’t completely throw this thing away,’” he said. “I just started doubling and hopping and skipping.”

Jason Anderson - Salt City Lake Supercross: ”My win tonight was good. I got a good start and led the whole Main Event, which is something I’ve never done. I was stoked to do it here in Salt Lake. It was a good race for me. I got my first podium here last year, which was my first time here. To get my first win this year, I’m happy and super excited. I usually just go crazy. Just being calm and putting in my laps made the difference. The whoops were gnarly tonight, I definitely didn’t ‘wanna crash the last lap in them, but once I made it through them, it was like sigh of relief. It was a good night.”

Ryan Sipes – Salt City Lake Supercross: ”The weekend was rough. I’m a little disappointed in myself. It’s taking me a while to get back in the racing mode. I get out there and I ‘kinda just lock up. I’m not flowing and I’m not riding nearly as good as I do at the practice track. If I could ride like I practice, I feel like I could be in the hunt for wins. It’s not happening right now. Hopefully I can work on some stuff this week and make it better in Vegas.”

Davi Millsaps – Salt Lake City Supercross: “I gave it everything I had. I seriously had nothing left in me when I crossed that finish line. I was so happy to see the ‘checkers.’ Ryan Villopoto ran a good last half-of-the-season and I ran a bad one. It was a great run and it was fun racing against those guys. Definitely congratulations to Villopoto. He rode like a champion. It was a learning year for me as I’ve never been in the front, never had the points lead, let alone having this many podiums. All-in-all it’s been a good season so far and I’m definitely looking forward to next year.”

Ryan Villopoto – Salt Lake City Supercross: “Every lap of that race was intense. I knew for those guys (Dungey and Millsaps) it was all or nothing when I was out front and I had to be smart. At the beginning of the season, we had a bit of a deficit to make up, and we had to chip away as the season went on. I have a great support system behind me, with Thor being a big part of my program, and we never wanted to seem defeated but go at it one race at a time, hoping things would turn around and it did. I am so grateful to have Thor on my side as a great sponsor and happy I was able to bring them another championship.”

Luke Norris – British Masters: “Fortunately I did enough to finish 6th overall and I’m now lying 3rd in the championship which was a bonus. Not the weekend I was hoping for but I learnt a lot and I’m looking forward to the first European 250 Championship race this weekend in Portugal.”

Twitter has been white hot with all sorts of tweets regarding the Qatar GP and the usual stuff from the Supercross in St Louis – here’s our tweets of the week and remember to hit their FOLLOW button.

Desalle his balls are bigger then Chuck Norris can ever imagine!!!!! #whatapass

— Marc de Reuver (@MarcDeReuver) March 2, 2013

Lets go a couple hours sleep now on the plane to Thailand! twitter.com/tommysearle100…

— Tommy searle (@tommysearle100) March 3, 2013

hurts me to say this but they should learn from the AMA motocross. Also no sort of live timing/placing across the top of the screen??

— Jason Bowes(@jb_227) March 2, 2013

I love motocross but the gp Qatar was a load of rubbish. What are they doing. Tracks are all the same and the format is complicated. Sorry!

— justin morris (@justinmorris75) March 2, 2013

Terrible run this morning, felt like I was running in wet motocross boots

— Chris Birch (@BirchyNZ) February 28, 2013

Let me get this straight: ESPN has 30min segment on 40yr olds playing tag, but won’t show Supercross highlights?

— Chase Stallo (@chaserxi) March 4, 2013

@moto_magazine Anstie?what a joke,suffering jetlag.Amateur preperation from our best mx2 rider. pls someone slap some sense into him.

— james smith (@jimsmith1973) March 3, 2013

@moto_magazine got the propper tools out there mate #bighammer

— Glen Phillips(@glenphillipsmx) March 2, 2013

@moto_magazine not much battling going on anywhere at the moment, lot of gaps

— OTOR (@OntrackOffroad) March 2, 2013

Poor Josh Hill man, you can see him really trying. I have to give RCH racing mad props for giving him the chance and sticking with him

— Moto_Addict (@moto_addict) March 3, 2013

Onwards and upwards for a disappointed Ryan Dungey.

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey finished sixth overall after a rough start at the eighth round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series, an FIM World Championship.

Dungey was placed in 450SX heat number one where he earned a fifth place start. Dungey caught Mike Alessi and made a pass for fourth on the fifth lap of the race. On the final lap Dungey suffered a small crash and lost a few positions. He recovered in seventh position which is where he finished earning a transfer spot to the main event.

When the gate dropped for the main event, Dungey jumped out to a top ten start. He was sitting in seventh after the first few corners. On the sixth lap of the race he made a pass to take over sixth position. He quickly reeled in the fifth place ride of Trey Canard and the two battled for that spot for the remainder of the race. Unfortunately, Dungey was unable to make the pass and had to settle for sixth place.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the best start and I wasn’t able to put myself in the best position for the overall tonight.

“I am definitely disappointed in my result tonight but I know what to work on and will come back stronger for St. Louis,” stated Dungey.

Next Event: St. Louis, MO – March 2, 2013

Overall Results 450SX Class –
1. James Stewart
2. Ryan Villopoto
3. Davi Millsaps
4. Justin Barcia
5. Trey Canard
6. Ryan Dungey – KTM
7. Eli Tomac
8. Jake Weimer
9. Chad Reed
10. Mike Alessi
11. Matt Goerke – KTM
12. Broc Tickle
13. Justin Brayton
14. Andrew Short – KTM
15. PJ Larsen
16. Josh Hill
17. Chris Blose
18. Les Smith – KTM
19. Jimmy Albertson
20. Bobby Kiniry

Overall Point Standings 450SX Class –
1. Davi Millsaps – 174
2. Ryan Villopoto – 152
3. Ryan Dungey – 148

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey finished 3rd at round six of the Monster Energy Supercross Series, an FIM World Championship held a Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego tonight.
Dungey qualified sixth fastest from the days practice sessions to earn a spot in heat race number one. When the gate dropped for the heat Dungey rounded the opening turn in 8th and went on to work his way back into the top five, moving up to 4th place before the completion of the race.

He had a decent gate pick for the main event and elected to start from the third gate to the left of the start box. Launching from the start line Dungey was positioned in about sixth place by the end of the opening lap. Shuffling a few spots during the race, he successfully got around Justin Brayton to move into podium contention with six laps to go. Dungey’s third place result is good enough to retain second overall in the championship points with 113.

“I’m actually pretty happy with my ride tonight,” said Dungey. “It was a tough track to pass on and as I didn’t get a great start, I think I rode pretty strong to come through the pack and finish on the box. It would definitely make my life a little easier if I could keep getting a start like I did last week! But that’s just something I have to work on”.

Next Event: February 16, 2013 – Arlington, TX

Overall Results 450SX Class –
1. Davi Millsaps
2. Justin Barcia
3. Ryan Dungey – KTM
4. James Stewart
5. Chad Reed
6. Ryan Villopoto
7. Justin Barcia
8. Trey Canard
9. Andrew Short
10. Mike Alessi
11. Broc Tickle
12. Matthew Goerke – KTM
13. Matthew Lemoine
14. Weston Peick
15. PJ Larsen
16. Robert Kiniry
17. Chris Blose
18. Josh Hill
19. Ben Lamay
20. Kyle Partridge

Overall Point Standings 450SX Class –
1. Davi Millsaps – 132
2. Ryan Dungey – 113
3. Ryan Villopoto – 105

Dodge and RCH Racing return to Angel Stadium in Anaheim this weekend for Round 3 of the 17-race of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross Series. Gate selection and fast starts have been the keys for success through the first two rounds of the SX season. The Main Event winner has come from the top two gate positions.

The 20 riders in Saturday night’s 450-class Main Event will be looking to win the battle to Turn 1 and then settle in for the grueling 20-lap feature.

Rider Broc Tickle (No. 20 Dodge/Sycuan/RCH Racing/Suzuki RM-Z450) will be the lone RCH Racing entry this weekend. Tickle is looking to make his third consecutive Main Event of the season. He had a season-best finish of 12th in Round 2 last week at Phoenix. He is currently 16th in the SX 450-class point standings, 33 behind leader David Millsaps. Tickle was 18th at season opener in Anaheim after colliding with two-time defending champion Ryan Villopoto on Lap 1 in the Main Event.

“Last weekend in Phoenix wasn’t what Broc (Tickle) wanted,” said team co-owner and 15-time AMA Series champion Ricky Carmichael. “It’s a long season; I tell everybody this. There’s a lot of hype going on around our team. Let’s just see where we’re at around Round 12. That’s when you see the veterans separate themselves from the rest of the riders. Take a rider like Chad Reed, he’s just back there lurking. He’s got two fourth-place finishes but look where he is in championship points. A guy like Broc, he’s a slow starter but consistent. Most of the time, he capitalizes on everyone’s misfortune and that’s what I like about him.”

Tickle believes the track testing this weekend with Carmichael will pay dividends. Poor starting gate positions and slow starts have been the Achilles Heel for Tickle through the first two rounds. Race-week practice sessions have focused on the importance of starting gate execution and had to stay clear of the usual Turn 1 chaos.

“The main thing for the first corner is to be smart,” Tickle said. “I need to line myself up on the gate to where if there is a problem I can get out of it. Last week, I didn’t have a good Heat Race and didn’t have a good gate selection for the Main. I was way outside and it put me in a bad position. Eventually I got pushed off the track. The main goal this week is to be good in practice, have good practice times, have a good gate pick for the Heat Race and just let everything flow together into the Main Event.”

Teammate Josh Hill (No. 75 Dodge/Sycuan/Suzuki RM-Z450) remains sidelined after suffering a concussion and hand injury in the season opener in Anaheim. The mishap came during practice and Hill was unable to compete in his scheduled Heat Race for precautionary reasons. His return is tentatively scheduled for Round 4 next week.

“The hand isn’t doing too bad,” said Hill. “I’ve been having therapy on it every day. I’ve been working with a bone stimulator and all sorts of other things trying to work the hand and make the recovery happen as fast as we can.

“I’m shooting for Oakland. I have a doctor’s appointment next Wednesday and at that time the doctors will determine if the bones have grown back together. I just want to get back out on track with our Dodge/Sycuan Casino/RCH Racing/Bel-Ray/Suzuki and see where we are at.”

The kid just doesn’t seem to have any luck. Josh Hill crashed in practice at Anaheim in what looked like nothing serious, after a few tests it was announced that Josh hit his head pretty hard and hurt his hand. Josh will miss up to 3 weeks racing depending on recovery.

The kid just can’t keep getting injured like he is, how many more times can his body take it let alone affect him mentally. All the best Josh.

Our interview with Pro Circuit mechanic Olly Stone, this was recorded last night for the MOTO Radio Show but unfortunately we had to cancel due to technical issues.

Olly was Jake Nicholls mechanic before he was offered his dream job with PC and Justin Hill, younger brother of Josh Hill.

The new-look Dodge/ Sycuan Casino/ RCH Racing/ Bel-Ray/ Suzuki Racing Team had an evening of mixed results at the opening round of the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross Series season on Saturday at jammed-packed Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.

Former AMA Lites Champion Broc Tickle was on the pace for a top-10 finish aboard his RM-Z450 when a mid-race mishap with two-time defending series champion Ryan Villopoto dropped the first-year RCH rider 10 positions and out of the race contention in 18th.

Tickle started 12th in the 20-lap Main Event. He broke inside the top 10 by lap five and was racing fork-to-fork with Villopoto when misfortune struck on the eighth lap when he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and couldn’t avoid the havoc in front of him.

Said Tickle: “I didn’t see much until I got right up on him. He must have hit the tuff block when he landed because they were all across the track. I dodged one, dodged his bike but ran into ‘Villo’ and crashed. It’s a bummer for everyone on the team but we’re ‘outta here healthy and I’m looking forward to next week in Phoenix.

The Michigan native was solid throughout the event aboard the Tony Berluti-tuned Suzuki. He rode mid-pack in both afternoon practice sessions and finished sixth in his Heat Race for an automatic transfer to the Main Event. Tickle was impressive in his heat, rebounding after getting pinched in the first turn which dropped him five positions in the eight-lap race, but he regained four spots over the final four laps on the ultra-fast Anaheim track.

“We had a really good day until the Main Event,” said Berluti. “Broc was running about 10th; he and Ryan Villopoto were battling hard for a few laps, then Villopoto hit a tuff block and knocked it out of place and Broc had nowhere to go. It took Broc a few seconds to get back going, but by then he was all the way back in 20th.

Team-mate Josh Hill suffered his second-consecutive, season-opening disappointment after the Oregon rider wobbled his Suzuki during the first qualifying practice, cross-rutting a portion of the rhythm section which sent him to the dirt.

Hill’s head-banging tumble forced the second-year RCH rider to sit out the remaining event schedule and was evaluated by medical personnel for precautionary reasons. Hill suffered a broken left leg at last year’s season opener which side-lined him for the majority of the season.

Said Hill’s mechanic Shawn Bell: “Kind of a bummer. Josh had a little trouble when he cross-rutted coming through the rhythm section and put the bike down. He banged his head a little bit and we thought it was the best option to have him looked at and hold him out of the race.

“He was good in practice. We had high expectations coming into tonight and we got bit by a gremlin. We’ve waited for this all off season, it’s been pretty gnarly getting ready for Anaheim and everyone was looking forward to tonight’s race.”

450 Supercross Main Event:

1. Davi Millsaps (Rockstar Energy Suzuki)
2. Trey Canard (Honda)
3. Ryan Dungey (KTM)
4. Chad Reed (Honda)
5. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki)
6. Andrew Short (Honda)
7. Justin Barcia (Honda)
8. James Stewart (Yoshimura Suzuki)
9. Justin Brayton (Yamaha)
10. Kevin Windham (Honda)
18. Broc Tickle (RCH Suzuki)

Great to see riders ripping it up before tomorrows A1. Fairplay to the Dirtshark for getting out there and in the process getting a right royal telling off and told to get out of the tree haha

We can remember a few years back when the Team at MOTO did the same and were told a few times to eff off – moral of the story is to hide in the bushes and wear plenty of camo gear.