INTERVIEW
WIL HAHN
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son, something that seemed to
some like a huge gamble.
"These guys gave me a chance
in 2011 and I feel like I failed them,
but they stuck behind me," says
Hahn. "I only raced a few races
for them and they re-signed me
for another year, so I am very
appreciative of that. It says a lot
about this team and what kind
of people they are. That's some-
thing that words, and even my
championship, can't repay. I owe
these guys for the rebirth of my
career."
Ironically, Hahn missed the
first few rounds of the 2012 Mon-
ster Energy AMA Supercross
Lites West season due to a bro-
ken hip he suffered at the Honda
practice track.
"I couldn't believe it, I had to sit
out again," Hahn said of the or-
deal. "I was bummed but we got
through it."
With pressure mounting and a
mountain of injuries in his recent
history, Hahn put it all together in
2013, finishing every round of the
250 East SX series on the podi-
um and taking home the title for
GEICO Honda.
Remarkably, Hahn rode the
final round of the series in Las
Vegas with a broken hand. He
broke it during practice, but fight-
ing through the pain, he went
on to finish third, collecting just
enough points to wrap up the
2013 250 Eastern Regional Su-
percross Championship. A few
days later, Hahn had surgery to
repair the damage, which forced
him to miss the first few rounds of
the outdoor series.
For 2014, Hahn joined Eli
Tomac on GEICO's two-man
450 team. This marks his first
full year on a 450, and despite
coming in with a fresh title under
his belt, Hahn got very little hype
compared to other rookies like
Ken Roczen. Hahn didn't let that
bother him, though, and through
the first five rounds of the series,
he's gradually worked his way
into top-10 status, with his best
race of the year so far coming
in Oakland where he scored an
eighth-place finish.
This past weekend at Anaheim
III, Hahn finished 12th despite rid-
ing with a swollen right hand he
injured in practice.
"I was in a pretty good amount
of pain during the race, but I
knew it was important to earn as
many points as possible," says
Hahn. "I had to be a little con-
servative because I didn't want to
get in there and bang bars with
anyone and risk making my hand
