| August 15, 2023
The third running of the Big Hill Jam was again held on Josh and Justin Hill’s family property in Yoncalla, Oregon, August 12-13, and was round two of the AMA IRC Motoclimb Super Series (MSS).
Josh (75) and Justin Hill (46) went toe-to-toe in the Big Hill Jam Hillclimb final in Oregon. Josh also took the weekend’s overall victory. Photo: Tiara Martin
By Matt Musgrove
The Hill family moved dirt for months to improve the layout of the event, and welcomed the public onto their property to spectate. In addition to hosting the MSS round, the Big Hill Jam offered a Best Whip Competition with a $20,000 purse up for grabs. Also on tap were the Faster Minis race, amateur Motoclimb racing, live music and more, which kept everyone entertained throughout the weekend.
Veteran motocrosser Josh and Justin Hill have been passionate about the annual hillclimb for several years now, and they have put a lot of time into changing up the course from previous events and even installed a new watering system. The course is the most progressive on the circuit and consists of a 20-foot-tall wall at the start, a rhythm section, a banked 90-degree turn, which leads into two road gaps, and a 200-foot steep hill section to the finish. Not only were the two brothers promoting this event in all aspects, but they were also competing in it at the highest level.
The MSS athletes were met with some stacked competition who traveled from all around the country to be a part of the action-packed weekend. Gared Steinke, Patrick Evans, Preston Boespflug and Josh Toth were just some of the many talented crossover athletes who showed up to compete.
Off-road racer Josh Toth borrowed a Buell 1190 HCR and cracked the top five.
In the Pro Modified class, Joe Shipman laid down the fastest time on his Husqvarna FC450. His time held through the class, with Logan Cipala and Payton Reimers close behind. Shipman won this class, and his 22.474-seconds ride was the fastest pass of the weekend.
In the Pro Stock qualifier, 31 riders competed to be seeded in the Pro Stock main bracket. Each rider was given two runs, and the resulting times were very close. Josh Hill held the fast time on his Monster Energy Mountain Motorsports Yamaha YZ450F through both rounds of racing, winning the top-seed spot for the Pro Stock main. Justin Hill finished close behind for a second-place qualifying run on his Bud Racing Kawasaki KX450F, while Nick Desiderio, Teyler, Evans, Cipala and Shipman all qualified in the following five spots within four-tenths of a second of each other.
The qualifier results were inserted into a tournament bracket for the Pro Stock main on Sunday, and the battles began to see who would make it to the top first and move on to the next round of racing. This head-to-head format provided exciting action for the crowd. As the bracket started dwindling down, it was the Hill brothers who ended up in the final, which included some light-hearted trash-talking at the line. Justin got the jump on Josh, but Josh pulled ahead into the first turn and held the lead until the very top. In the third-place runoff, Evans beat out Cipala in another heated battle.
Austin Teyler was third in the Open class on his nitro-powered Suzuki RM-Z750. Photo: Travis Vandeburgh
For the Open class, there were some nitro bikes and several V-twins that were catching the attention of the fans, as many of them had never seen these bikes race up a hill before. Cipala was the first rider up and laid down a fast 22.814 seconds time on his Buell 1190 HCR, which held for the entire class. Josh Hill put down a solid 23.414-seconds run with a Yamaha YZ850F, earning him second place.
Austin Teyler finished a one-tenth of a second behind for third place on his nitro-powered Suzuki RM-Z750, and Logan Mead finished only one-tenth of a second behind him on his KTM 1290.
GNCC XC2 Champion and ISDE star Josh Toth borrowed one of Cipala’s Buell 1190 HCRs and, in his first time ever throwing a leg over an Open-class bike, Toth took a respectable fifth place.
Josh Hill, Logan Cipala (left) and Teyler (right) filled the overall podium. Photo: Matt Musgrove
Josh Hill’s 1-2 finish in the Pro Stock main and the Open class earned him 47 points and the overall win on the day, topping his own event for the first time and taking home a few custom wood trophies made by his brother, Justin. Cipala finished second overall with 43 points, and Teyler finished third overall with 35 points.
