Justin Hill: “I probably have it better than everybody out in the field. I really love my job”

Hill reflected on his first three rounds of the ’26 SX season with laughter.

“Oh man, it's SO far away from where I want to be, EJ," mused Hill. "It's fine because you get dealt monkey wrenches in the sport so much. It's just the most volatile things that a guy can be doing for a living. I dealt myself a pretty goofy hand at A1. It's kind of a long-winded way to explain a crash, but basically, I crashed and blew my radiator cap off the bike. I got soaking wet. My whole bottom half I was just soaking wet from the antifreeze. I have coolant all over me, and I get to my mechanic, and he got it all patched up. I was soaking wet and couldn't grip the bike that well. I go out there and try and send it for one lap and crash hard. Dude, I separated the cartilage in my ribs. So that's just what I've been battling. It's been one of the more mentally testing injuries for me because I can walk around, I can show up for these race weekends and get through it. Pain-wise, I can make it through the day, but every single thing I hit just f@#king hurts. Every single thing I do just costs so much mental and physical energy.”

“On top of that, every single time I ride, I make it worse,” he continued. “It's just management. It's more mentally challenging than anything. Between Anaheim 1 and San Diego and between San Diego and Anaheim 2, I was unable to ride. I didn't ride one time. I was able to sit on a spin bike and sit in the hyperbaric chamber and do the rehabilitating-type things. However, I was unable to ride a bike. I was unable to look at one. Putting all of that in perspective, I'm actually proud of where I'm at. God, it's been extremely frustrating. I couldn't think of a more ridiculous way to be derailed but still being able to show up and ride. So, I'm extremely derailed. Dude, it's just what it is. Like today was the first day I was able to practice. Now I'm like, 'I got a short day in today. I'm just kind of testing everything.' I was seeing how I felt, and we're okay, and we're going to ride again tomorrow. We actually have some parts from the factory team that we're going to test. Those guys are super awesome and excited to help us. We have some more parts from them. We're going to test tomorrow. We're going to be able to ride at press day at Houston. Things are looking up. I'm going to have so much more seat time. I mean, my brother Josh has said this to me over the years. He said, 'The only guys that go out there and race when they're hurt are dumb enough to think they're better.' And he's right. That's kind of my mental game. When I get into a position of confidence, it's real. It's a real confidence, you know? I know that's coming. The way I felt leading into Anaheim 1 and before that silly crash, it was probably the best month on a motorcycle that I can remember ever having. I felt SO good. It's right there. We have a great bike setup. You know how it is with these Tedder guys. They're never going to out you on crummy stuff. The Tedder Racing program is awesome."

He has spoken lately that he feels "more prepared than ever."

“Yeah, absolutely,” he replied. “I mean, the way I see it is that I look at the bike more than anything. If you're in a good place with the motorcycle and you feel comfortable, to me, if that's in line, there is no other thing in your way. I feel like we have that. This year, I feel like our bike is that good. It's a matter of not making stupid rookie mistakes like trying to send it. I was super excited. I was so pumped, and I was so excited coming into the first Anaheim that I just made a bunch of 19-year-old mistakes. It was kind of crazy.”

"I also work with J. Whipple a lot with just on the bike stuff," continued Hill. "He's fantastic at just technical things and technique stuff on the bike. I work with him quite a bit. He's a buddy. Before Anaheim, I was like, 'Dude, this is weird. I'm 30 years old, and I have those butterflies I used to have before the season when I was young.' He was like, 'I like to hear that.' I said, 'I think it's good, too. It's like I really care!' It was really cool. I know I'll get it all right back as soon as I'm at 100 percent."

As a member of Team Tedder Racing, Hill is in a privateer position of having to go head-to-head with the Japanese and Austrian factory teams that rule the sport. Hill talked about that reality.

"That's hard for me to explain from a position of fighting teams as an entity," explained the 2017 250SX West Division Champion. "I feel like I'm just fighting each rider I race against. I'm trying to be better than them. Yeah, of course, there are days where you see somebody that has the setup and does have all the stuff going for them, and you always want to beat them. You want to beat the guy that is on a better seat. I don't look at it that way, dude. I just don't think my seat is worse than everybody's. I probably have it better than everybody out in the field. I really love my job. My crew, I wouldn't trade for the world. I've said that all along. This is my fourth year with these guys. I'm going to retire with these guys. I don't really plan on going anywhere. Something crazy needs to happen or would have to happen to get me to leave. I really enjoy my job. I don't look at it like, 'I'm fighting the OEMs.' I've got A LOT of help from KTM. They try to get me whatever they can. Yeah, I'm in a great situation because I can test those parts when they give us stuff to try. But then I have the option of I liked it or I didn't like it. Everything on my motorcycle is what I chose. I really like that. People's preferences can differ so much. It's kind of a cool spot I'm in."