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Former 250SX West champion Justin Hill has signed with Smartop Bullfrog Spas MotoConcepts Honda for the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, where he’ll pilot the CRF450R in the premier class.

Hill, who endured a difficult rookie season in the 450 category with JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing, will make his debut with the Honda squad at Anaheim 1, rather than this weekend’s Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas.

“I’m really excited to be a part of the Smartop Bullfrog Spas MotoConcepts Honda team,” said Hill. “Change is good and working with this new group of guys is a breath of fresh air. The bike is amazing, and I am looking forward to racing to the top this coming season.”

Team owner Mike Genova added: “Justin has championship speed and abilities and we are excited to have a rider of his calibre join the team. While Justin has had a couple of tough years – we believe that with hard work and commitment on his part, combined with our race-proven MCR Honda, he can be a top contender in 2020.”

Hill will join team regulars Malcolm Stewart and Vince Friese throughout the 2020 championship.

Image: Foremost Media.

Penrite Honda Racing’s Brett Metcalfe is relishing the opportunity to race in front of a home crowd this Saturday for the second round of the Australian Supercross Championship, as the South Australian looks to replicate his race-winning performance from 2018 at the Port Adelaide venue.

Metcalfe rode strongly at Brisbane’s opener last weekend, however a race two mishap ultimately denied him of standing on the box.

The former international possessed the same form in Queensland that took him to victory at last year’s stop in South Australian, where he became the only full-time domestic rider to defeat teammate and three-time champion Justin Brayton (Penrite Honda Racing).

“Last year was unreal and an awesome feeling,” Metcalfe told MotoOnline.com.au. “Living in the US for so long, I never had hometown races – any time I get the opportunity to be in South Australia racing at a professional level with friends, family and fans there – it’s just special. Last year winning, my only goal is to replicate that.”

The Australian Supercross Championship returns to a traditional 20-lap main event format on a full-size circuit.

Image: Foremost Media.

Dual SX2 champion Jackson Richardson is hopeful of racing the night show at Port Adelaide’s second round of the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship this weekend after suffering multiple foot injuries in a qualifying crash at Brisbane.

The Honda-mounted privateer was forced to eject while negotiating a rhythm section during the opening qualifying session of the season, the impact upon landing breaking all five toes on his right foot.

The popular Queenslander, who continued to ride during Brisbane’s night show before an error off the start in his heat race denied him of transferring to the SX1 main events, will attempt to ride in South Australia, where he’ll evaluate the pain of the injury during the event’s practice session.

“I misjudged one of the rhythms and gave it a bit more gas than I anticipated, the front-end came up – and it was right up – it all happened so quickly, so I thought the best thing to do was to let go and try and land on my feet,” Richardson explained to MotoOnline.com.au. “My right leg stuck in the ground when I landed – my foot just folded back a bit.

“The short story is I’ve broken all my toes – it’s not actually on my toes, but it’s like the knuckles on my foot. Right now, it’s gotten better since the weekend, but I’m just waiting to see how it feels by Saturday. I’m just going to rest it in the next couple of days and see how it feels coming into the weekend.

“I’ll make the call around practice, because I rode with it a bit on the weekend, so I know I can ride with it. I’ve just got to find a way to get rid of the pain a bit – I’ll figure it out.”

Richardson has pulled together a list of sponsors together for his rookie season in the premier class, attracting energy drink giant Rockstar Energy as a major backer of his efforts.