Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1212072
VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 19, 2020 P59 an inside/outside move through the track's split-sand lane to take over the lead just before the halfway point of the race. "Early on, it was just following him," Tomac said. "Early on, you just don't want to go too hard, and I felt like our pace was really good, so really the one thing that changed was just the line in the sand. I was like, 'Where can I try to make up some time on him?' And I just darted to the inside on him one lap [in the sand], and it ended up working out. If you could get the double before the triple on the right side, it was really fast. And then the outside in the left-hander working a desk job at Monster Energy. It's been a full decade since Josh Hill had his famous crash as a member of the L&M Yamaha team while attempting a backflip in the run-up to the X Games. That crash left Josh Hill with a broken femur and major compartment syndrome. He didn't race supercross again until 2013 when he raced for the RCH Suzuki team but was never close to his old form again. Hill won his first 450SX main event in 2008 in Minneapolis as a rookie. Most of Hill's racing has recently been in the snow. Josh was the 2018 AMA National Snow Bike Champion (he did not attempt to defend the title). He finished fourth in the Snow Bike Cross event at the 2020 Winter X Games, as well. In Tampa, the elder Hill qualified eighth for the 250SX class during daytime qualifying, and he finished 12th in the main event. Josh's little brother Justin Hill also had a big night in Tampa, grabbing his first top-five of the year with a fifth place in the main event. MOREAU INJURED Although he's somewhat un- known in the U.S., 18-year-old French racer, Brian Moreau was set to make a highly anticipated debut in Tampa for the TLD/Red Bull KTM team. Moreau won the 2017 EMX125 Championship at just 15 years old and was staying with his KTM teammate Marvin Musquin and his wife Mathilde in the USA while learning the ropes Stateside. In the first practice in Tampa, Moreau went down and was carted off the track. Early reports reveal that Moreau suf- fered a fracture to his C7 verte- bra. Moreau's family released a statement, written in French, on Sunday: Hello to all. We wanted to inform you about the state of Brian's health. Hit in the vertebra, Brian had surgery last night at Tampa hospital. Sur- gery is good, and Brian woke up. He is currently in intensive care, but doctors will not be able to decide on his condition for several days... Brian is a very brave and strong boy, and is aware of everything… We will keep you informed when we know more. PIERCE BROWN UPDATE The TLD/Red Bull KTM team's other 250SX East racer on the roster besides Moreau is 17-year- old Pierce Brown. Brown missed Tampa due to a shoulder injury he suffered in late December, although he's been back on the bike for a few weeks. Before the Tampa race, Brown said he was planning to make his AMA Supercross debut in Atlanta, at round three of the 250SX East series. But without Brown on the track, the team may not have anybody in the semi, so if things go well this week, it's possible that Brown could speed up his debut at the Triple Crown event at Arlington, Texas. WORKING MAN Jeremy Martin said he took a job at a friend's motorcycle shop while he was laid up recovering from the broken back he suf- fered in 2018. He says he has Briefly... (Below) Ken Roczen (94) got on the podium but lost the red plate, while Cianciarulo (9) missed another win opportunity.