More JGR changes...Hill to 450 for selected rounds, Decotis returns

GuyB
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Edited Date/Time 6/6/2018 10:11pm
Justin Hill to race select 450 Nationals for the 
Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team 
while Jimmy Decotis marks return to 250 Class

Brea, CA (June 6, 2018) – The Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team is pleased to announce that Justin Hill will move up to the 450 class and race select rounds of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Hill will race the all-new Suzuki RM-Z450 beginning next weekend at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, PA. In 250 news, Jimmy Decotis is scheduled to make his return at Muddy Creek Raceway on June 23rd. Additionally, 250 rookie Enzo Lopes will now contest the remaining nine rounds of the series for the Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team.

The Yoncalla, Ore. native is eager to take on a new challenge and test himself in the highly-competitive 450 class. Hill made headlines earlier in the year when he raced several Monster Energy Supercross 450 rounds, winning a heat race and battling with series veterans. The supremely gifted 23-year-old will use this opportunity to acclimate to the 450 class, which he will contest on a full-time basis in 2019.
“It’s really cool that the Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team is giving me this chance,” stated Hill. “This is something J-Bone [Jeremy Albrecht] and I talked about before the start of the Nationals. I’m stoked to see what the 450 class is all about before I make the full-time jump up next year. I had a lot of fun racing a few 450 Supercross rounds. The goal is to learn, and I’m excited for the opportunity.”
Team manager Jeremy Albrecht echoed Hill’s thoughts. “Justin has a tremendous amount of talent, and he has been working hard at increasing his intensity. The Suzuki RM-Z450 has proven to be an outstanding bike, as Hill showed during Supercross earlier in the year. The team isn’t putting any pressure on him to win the 450 class. The established stars are going really fast right now, but I like Hill’s attitude about this opportunity. We will evaluate Justin after several rounds and make the decision whether to have him contest the remaining 450 Nationals.”
Albrecht added, “Jimmy Decotis is looking very focused and fast on the RM-Z250 in preparation for his return at Muddy Creek in two weekends. I think he will catch quite a few people by surprise. Additionally, it’s great to provide Enzo Lopes with a ride for the remaining rounds of the series. The kid is learning the ropes of racing at the highest level. He’s professional, works hard, and is making progress.”
The 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will resume next Saturday at High Point Raceway for the fourth round of the 12-race series. Please visit www.jgrmxraceteam.com for more team news.
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PRM31
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6/6/2018 12:18pm
Ha, somehow I doubt they are "pleased to announce.." that their top rider is completely ineffective on the 250 outdoors.

Might as well move him up, he was wasting all of their time on the 250 and it gets him time on the 450 for next year.

Good to see Lopes get a ride for the rest of the year though.
hamncheeze
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6/6/2018 12:26pm
Gonna be ugly when Justin Hill drops anchor after 15 minutes and Filthy smashes by him on a Husky. Honestly, even in this depleted class I don't see Hill in the top 10. Guys like Merriam and Locurcio are way more fit, and way more hungry.

Great news for Enzo Lopes though! I loved his personality on the Pulp MX show this week.
Lightning78
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6/6/2018 12:27pm
I dont know if id call him ineffective as much as id say he flat out put forth as little effort as possible when on the 250 except for San Diego and maybe one other SX he podiumed. Every other race this year looks like hes almost riding the 250 in protest because he wants to be on the 450 for SUPERCROSS.

I think he'll have 1 good moto showing ....his very first moto at High Point and be worked for the 2nd moto ...from there I think he just rides it out with lackluster results till he gets to 450sx.
mark_swart
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6/6/2018 12:29pm
I know that nobody can see the future, but man I think this storyline would have played out better for JGR with Hill as a "450 rookie" from the get go rather than a "Defending 250 SX Champion."

The Shop

FuzzyLogic
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6/6/2018 12:38pm Edited Date/Time 6/6/2018 12:40pm
mark_swart wrote:
I know that nobody can see the future, but man I think this storyline would have played out better for JGR with Hill as a "450...
I know that nobody can see the future, but man I think this storyline would have played out better for JGR with Hill as a "450 rookie" from the get go rather than a "Defending 250 SX Champion."
Completely agree.

My interpretation of Hill's efforts have been " I just want to ride a 450." Meanwhile just about every single one of his future competitors is cutting their teeth and battling up front indoors and out in the 250 class. How many other successful 450 guys have won 1 regional title, absolutely struggled outdoors and gone on to be a star in the sport?

I do like the move for him to get on the 450, but just have little faith that its going to go extremely well.
hamncheeze
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6/6/2018 12:40pm
FuzzyLogic wrote:
Completely agree. My interpretation of Hill's efforts have been " I just want to ride a 450." Meanwhile just about every single one of his future...
Completely agree.

My interpretation of Hill's efforts have been " I just want to ride a 450." Meanwhile just about every single one of his future competitors is cutting their teeth and battling up front indoors and out in the 250 class. How many other successful 450 guys have won 1 regional title, absolutely struggled outdoors and gone on to be a star in the sport?

I do like the move for him to get on the 450, but just have little faith that its going to go extremely well.
Not Mookie, that's for sure.
KurtJ99
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6/6/2018 12:54pm
hamncheeze wrote:
Gonna be ugly when Justin Hill drops anchor after 15 minutes and Filthy smashes by him on a Husky. Honestly, even in this depleted class I...
Gonna be ugly when Justin Hill drops anchor after 15 minutes and Filthy smashes by him on a Husky. Honestly, even in this depleted class I don't see Hill in the top 10. Guys like Merriam and Locurcio are way more fit, and way more hungry.

Great news for Enzo Lopes though! I loved his personality on the Pulp MX show this week.
Agree. While Hill has never done well outdoors even on PC, it will be interesting to see what happens on a 450, especially with a good start. If in this depleted field he can't consistently get in the top 10 I think it would be bad.
Would love to have the inside line on the terms around the 450SX deal. Anyways, he has shown enough spark in 450SX that I think a team would be crazy not to take a chance on him in SX.
kb228
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6/6/2018 12:56pm
JGR is telling him its time to take a break from partying in temecula
Donovan759
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6/6/2018 12:57pm
mark_swart wrote:
I know that nobody can see the future, but man I think this storyline would have played out better for JGR with Hill as a "450...
I know that nobody can see the future, but man I think this storyline would have played out better for JGR with Hill as a "450 rookie" from the get go rather than a "Defending 250 SX Champion."
Justin Cooper sees the future every time he looks in the mirror.
Donovan759
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6/6/2018 1:00pm
I'm looking forward to seeing what Hill can do on the 450. I know a lot of people seem to think it will fit his riding style better. I guess we'll get to see.

JGR can't be too thrilled about all this right now. That's for sure.
ML512
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6/6/2018 1:00pm
kb228 wrote:
JGR is telling him its time to take a break from partying in temecula
Except he doesn't live in California.
6/6/2018 1:14pm
PRM31 wrote:
Ha, somehow I doubt they are "pleased to announce.." that their top rider is completely ineffective on the 250 outdoors. Might as well move him up...
Ha, somehow I doubt they are "pleased to announce.." that their top rider is completely ineffective on the 250 outdoors.

Might as well move him up, he was wasting all of their time on the 250 and it gets him time on the 450 for next year.

Good to see Lopes get a ride for the rest of the year though.
They signed him for 450s anyway, I'm sure they wanted him to do well on 250s this year but I believe their main focus the whole time has been 2019 SX.
milliebays
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6/6/2018 1:19pm
nothing against Hill, but i hope Filthy cleans his clock.
6/6/2018 1:21pm
kb228 wrote:
JGR is telling him its time to take a break from partying in temecula
ML512 wrote:
Except he doesn't live in California.
Lol it's a matthes line that he always uses on the pulp show ML. Doesnt literally mean temecula!
milliebays
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6/6/2018 1:26pm
kb228 wrote:
JGR is telling him its time to take a break from partying in temecula
ML512 wrote:
Except he doesn't live in California.
to stop playing with his muscle cars then?
ML512
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6/6/2018 1:31pm
kb228 wrote:
JGR is telling him its time to take a break from partying in temecula
ML512 wrote:
Except he doesn't live in California.
Lol it's a matthes line that he always uses on the pulp show ML. Doesnt literally mean temecula!
I know it's a Pulp line, but it usually refers to California in general as party joke. I was just pointing out he doesn't live in this state anymore.
MXD
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6/6/2018 1:42pm
The big winner in all of this is Phil for sure. He gets off of a team who seems to have lost some respect for what he brings to the table and slides into a top tier #1 spot. I never understood why they didn't use Phil to his strengths. Why would you take a guy who is solid outdoors on a 450 and put him indoors on a 250?

Enzo Lopes is the #2 big winner. Good for him. He seems like a nice kid and deserving of this opportunity.

Jimmy D will do what Jimmy does and struggle outdoors.

JH can be a little pumped about finally getting on a 450 but now he's out of excuses and I don't think he has what it takes.

I'm starting to think that JGRs run of "falling short of expectations" isn't just bad luck. Doesn't this give the look of them throwing their hands in the air and saying "fuck it"?
KDXGarage
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6/6/2018 1:45pm
He was not doing well on the 250. He looked like he could not be in the top ten in the 250 class even if he was on a 450.
TogaSet
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6/6/2018 2:03pm
Outsider looking in but something about JGR’s thinking just seems to always be a little off. The shot caller or the talent scout over there needs to be replaced.
racinstation
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6/6/2018 2:16pm
hamncheeze wrote:
Gonna be ugly when Justin Hill drops anchor after 15 minutes and Filthy smashes by him on a Husky. Honestly, even in this depleted class I...
Gonna be ugly when Justin Hill drops anchor after 15 minutes and Filthy smashes by him on a Husky. Honestly, even in this depleted class I don't see Hill in the top 10. Guys like Merriam and Locurcio are way more fit, and way more hungry.

Great news for Enzo Lopes though! I loved his personality on the Pulp MX show this week.
I think you will be mistaken.......but we will all see in the next few weeks. I think Hill will be top 10 in the 450 class. It is pretty thin up there compared to the 250 class. He is more of a SX guy, but I think this move will give him a shot of motivation.
mb60
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6/6/2018 2:45pm
Great gig for Philthy for sure. Not sure his results will improve much because the JGR 450 is pretty impressive.

Hill was not going to do anything on the 250 for sure. So might as well get his feet wet in the 450 class.
6/6/2018 2:53pm Edited Date/Time 6/6/2018 4:32pm
motoxxx599 wrote:
Tampa, bro.
Does a quad and wins a heat race and is the best thing since sliced bread. People forget the very next week he got hurt trying a jump only Tomac was doing.

I'm excited to see what he can do on a 450 outdoors though, I think he might surprise some people.
Phillip_Lamb
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6/6/2018 3:00pm
Well he "should" be getting top 10's now....considering there are only 10 factory riders? i dont expect to see outside of the 6-10 range and thats by default. on a stacked healthy field i would expect him to be 8-12.
Drtbykr
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6/6/2018 3:26pm
Be careful what you want, you might get it. If he doesn’t break the top 10 in this field, oh boy.
Or if one of the top guys lap him, ugh.

I don’t know if this is the right move by JGR, tail wagging the dog move. Big bike familiarity make sense though.

No excuses time.
mxb2
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6/6/2018 3:29pm
hamncheeze wrote:
Gonna be ugly when Justin Hill drops anchor after 15 minutes and Filthy smashes by him on a Husky. Honestly, even in this depleted class I...
Gonna be ugly when Justin Hill drops anchor after 15 minutes and Filthy smashes by him on a Husky. Honestly, even in this depleted class I don't see Hill in the top 10. Guys like Merriam and Locurcio are way more fit, and way more hungry.

Great news for Enzo Lopes though! I loved his personality on the Pulp MX show this week.
I think you will be mistaken.......but we will all see in the next few weeks. I think Hill will be top 10 in the 450 class...
I think you will be mistaken.......but we will all see in the next few weeks. I think Hill will be top 10 in the 450 class. It is pretty thin up there compared to the 250 class. He is more of a SX guy, but I think this move will give him a shot of motivation.
Paycheck not enough motivation?
BobKerr
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6/6/2018 4:20pm Edited Date/Time 6/6/2018 4:20pm
He will shoot his wad in the first Moto's trying to get 6th-10th, then drop anchor during the second Moto's. I don't get the feeling that he is putting in the hard work during the week.

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