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/1542356
Paul Gross: Looking Out For l(ds When Seattle native Paul Gross staned his charity, The Motocross Guild of Children's Hospital, he beSan \Morking diligently to launch a fundraising drive that would culminate at Seattle's Qwest Field for the Amp'd Mobile Supercross stop. Qulck to help out were Ricky Carmichael and Chad Reed. The two Supercross stars visited Seattle's Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center for a meet and greet with the kids and gave away gear, toys and more. cn: What did Uou s€t uP in S€attl€P paulgros$ A grgup of us here that work with Seattle's Children's Hospital have put together a Seattle Supercross Triple Charity event. lt's called a triple charity because there are three components: American Suzuki donated a RM-2250F. which we sold raflle tickets for, and Ricky Carmichael pulled the winning ticket we had a silent auction at Renton Motorcycles, where all of the top riders appeared and donated their gear. We had nearly 3000 fans there. The last part was called the lnside Line Pledge Drive wlrere fans raised pledEes for the hospi- tal. We rewarded the top 25 fundraisers and gave them the ultimate fan experi- ence at the race. They were able to attend a meet and greet with Carmichael. Reed and more. Those rid- ers spent some time with the kids at the hospital, which says a lot about those guys. They were also able to do a track walk, visit some of the team rigs and enio/ed great seating. lt was an exPeri- ence they earned by raising money for the kids. cn: lt s€€ms lik€ gou hav€ had a lot of suppont from th€ tEams and rid€nsP paulgrosi: American Suzuki stepped up huge when they donated the RM-2250F; that was a big deal, Ricky Carmichael and his team have been tremendously supportive along with Chad Reed and his agent Bob Moore. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Kawasaki and Honda were also involved as well, offering rig tours and donating gifts to d|e hospital. lt's amazing how the whole thing came together. cn: Are ther€ plens to mak€ this an annual cvcnt in Scattlc? paulgross: I think the overall strategy is to start this season with one bi8 charity event in Seattle and see what happens. Because it is a volunteer-driven effort, we need to find people in other cities who want to help out, Obviqusly, these people need to have an interest in moto.ross and charity, I would love to help them out and see what we can do with it- I Suess you have to walk before you run. cn: What would b€ UouP qoal for th€ charitgP paulgross: I would like to see it happen in every city where Amp'd Mobile Supercross stops in. I know that in iust about everl city there is a children's hos- pital. One idea may be to have the facto- ry teams to get behind it and drive the fundraising through competition. lt will go beyond the racetrack, Each team will collectively raise lunds and compete against one another. I think we could raise a few million dollars a year by doing this. lt would also be huge for the sport and show the riders and teams in a very positive Iight. Josh Hill: Movin' Up Josh Hill is the Idest phenom making waves in the Amateur ranks and could very well be the next big $ing to come out oI the Amateur Naional programs. At this year's World Mini Amateur Ndionals in L6 V.Eas, Neydda, the 16- year-old from Yoncalla, Oregon, Hill swept the Pro classes, winning the 125 Pro Stock and Modiried and 250 Pro Stock and Modified divisions, and already has hi5 sights sEt on riding the linal four outdoor Nationals of the year after riding the Loretta Lynn's Amateur event in August, These days the Amateur National events iue so competitive that by the time a kid is ready to graduate to the Pros, in sorne cas€s, he already has skills to be competitive right from the $art - does the name Ryan Vllopoto ring a bell? Hill is one of Team Yamaha's top prospects. Hill recently spoke to us about the World Minis and his plans for the rest of the year. cn: Congratulations on Uour wins at th€ World Mini. How do€s it f€€lP ichhilt lt feels pretty good. cn: Who gav€ Uou th€ most competitionP joshhill: Sean Hackley and .limmy Albertson. The Stock classes ended up being tl|e two-moto format, and I won every single moto except for one, which was one that Hackley beat me in, But h ended up that I didn't need to win it to tal(e the championship. I got a bad start, and when I saw Sean was in the lead, I knew I could kind of cnrise. cnr What oth€n €v€nts hav€ gou nidden this gEar? ioshhill: This year I raced Lake \ryhitney and Oak Hill. At Oak Hill I won one of the Pro classes, but at Lake Whitney, I had a lot of bad luck and a few crashes. cn: Ar€ qou still in school? ioshhill: Yeah, I'm home-schooled. cn: You iust r€cEntlg mov€d to OF€gon fr'om Washingiton. Do gou hav€ a tnack thErc in Orcgon to pPactic€ on? jochhill: Yeah, we iust bouglt a bunch of land in the middle oI Oregon on the west side, and we built a house, and we have some track to practice on. cn: ls gour familg pr€ttg involv€d in racing? jchhilt l'4y dad raced pretty much his whole life. and he is still active \^/ith riding, and I have a little brothen Justin, wtlo rides. We've got a motor home that we travel in to the races and the whole family goes - rny mom, dad, brother and grandpa. cn: Wh€n did gou start racing? ioshhill: I surted racing when I was three yea6 qld, if you could call it racing, I was doing local stuff and riding at that age" I didn't do my first National until I was 5 years old, on 5G. The lirst )€ar, I ony went to Vegas. And then I grew really fast and I got on 60s when I was 6 )rears old, and I went to Vegas and dlen Ponca City that year. From therc, we lust started going to all of them. cn: Which are gou better at: sup€rcPoss or motocrossP iochhilt I actually think I am a better Supercross rider than I arn an outdoor rider. But I really don't get to ride Supercrgss that much. I get to ride some Arenacross events in dE area, like the Salem Arenacroes. cn: What an€ UouP plans fon th€ r€st of th€ g€arP ioshhill I arn going to do ailthe quallfiers for Loretta's and then go to Mammoth, Loretta's and, most likely, I will ride the last four Ndionall cn: \rvho arc gour sPonsorsP loshhill: Right now it is Yarnaha, Thot Parts Unlimited, Smith and FME By Shdn Mooro HTroTEIII: r=tLIrE)5= r='l tLtrrltrrl U lN< trH N4: tr tr { - ) I r a { -a 20 MAY 10,2006 crclE NEWS