New Zealand’s sole representative at the 2026 World Championship Jet Boat River Race has come home with the result that counts. Justin Hill, racing his CX class Eagle hull Aftershock alongside navigator Scott Smith, claimed the CX class title at the ten-day international event held across Idaho’s Payette, Salmon, Snake and St. Joe rivers from May 8 to 17, finishing second overall behind Canadian Unlimited Class competitor Gord Humphrey.
It was Hill’s fourth world class title across a career spanning more than a decade, and his first on US soil.
A racing bloodline
Hill’s connection to the sport runs deeper than most. His father Michael, a 1997 world champion, was present in Idaho for the campaign, wrenching on the boat alongside crew member Adam and a small contingent of Kiwi supporters. Justin’s mother, another cornerstone of his racing journey, was back home in New Zealand watching the coverage remotely.
“I was seven years old when he won the world title,” Hill said of his father.
Now 15 years into his own racing career, Justin has built a record that stands alongside anything his father achieved. He won both his New Zealand world championship appearances in the A class, then took a CX class world title in Canada in 2019. A campaign in Oregon two years ago ended with a third place finish, leaving a US title unfinished. Idaho was the chance to put that right.
For Hill, the draw of the sport has always been bigger than the results alone.
“Jet boat racing is in the family. The people we meet and the places we travel are incredible, and going fast on the best rivers in the world doesn’t hurt either.”
The team behind Aftershock
Hill made the trip to Idaho with navigator Scott Smith, who brings eight years of experience in the seat alongside him. The Eagle hull Aftershock, powered by a Chevy CT525, made the journey from New Zealand backed by sponsors Southshore Marine Ltd, Talley’s and Jettec. The crew was small but tight, with Michael Hill and Adam handling the mechanical work, supported by a handful of fellow Kiwis making the trip.
The campaign in Idaho
Hill and Smith arrived at the Payette River for the May 9 opening legs and immediately set the pace in class. Aftershock recorded the fastest CX times in three of the four opening legs, finishing the day third overall and first in CX, only Canadian Gord Humphrey’s powerful Unlimited Class machine Unnatural Disaster and American Chuck Thompson’s A class boat Rump Shocker sitting above them on the general classification.
By Day 2 on the Payette, Hill had moved into second overall, with Humphrey stretching his lead but Hill consolidating his hold on the CX class. When racing shifted to the Salmon River, the complexion of the event changed for several competitors. Two of the top A class boats were out of the running entirely. Gambler, driven by American Tim Harding, hit the side of the river, overturned, and submerged on Day 3. Ryan Hudson’s Sneaky Snake also tumbled. With the A class field thinning, the overall standings sharpened.
The move to the Snake River at Lewiston brought rougher water that tested everyone. Hill acknowledged the conditions were unlike anything back home. “It’s been good. It’s some new water for us. We’ve just been feeling our way through it,” he said ahead of the final St. Joe legs.
After the Snake River legs, Hill had slipped temporarily to third overall, with Hudson’s Sneaky Snake sitting between him and Humphrey, a margin of just two seconds separating Hill from Hudson. The pressure was on.
But Hill and Smith held their nerve. Through the final legs on the St. Joe River, they reclaimed second overall and extended their lead in CX. At the final count across 17 legs and hundreds of river miles, Aftershock posted a total time of 4:42:24, just over 10 minutes clear of second-placed CX competitor Kyle Johnston in Rip N Tear (4:52:37).
Humphrey, in the more powerful Unlimited Class, was the only racer faster overall, posting 4:07:07.
What drives him
For a driver being described by those around him as the best on the circuit, Hill is measured in how he takes the compliment.
“I don’t know about that. There’s plenty of really good drivers around here and I look up to some of these racers around here too. I just enjoy pushing hard. It’s good when we’ve got a good bike that we can trust as well.”
Trust in the machine mattered across nine days of competition. Aftershock ran without incident from the Payette to the Joe. Consistency and reliability are as much a part of Hill’s formula as raw speed.
Going into the final weekend, Hill was characteristically careful. “I don’t want to jinx it,” he said. “I’m excited to get on to the Joe because it’s something a bit more New Zealand style. A bit narrower and windy but without the braided stuff.”
He was right. The St. Joe suited them.
The finish line
When the closing ceremony wrapped on May 17 in St. Maries, Hill and Smith had their CX class world title confirmed, with second place overall to show for a campaign that exceeded even their own expectations.
“Not where we thought we’d be at the end of it,” Hill said afterward, “but we just chipped away and did what we wanted to do all week. Perfect result.”
Smith was equally measured. “It’s been a really good marathon.”
For Hill, finishing second overall in a CX boat, ahead of the entire surviving A class field, was a result few had predicted at the start. “There’s a lot of horsepower in the A class this year,” he acknowledged. “Definitely not where we thought we would be.”
His father had little to add beyond the moment itself. “There’s no words for it really. It’s just incredible.”
Hill now heads straight back to New Zealand, with a South Island race meet on the calendar the weekend after landing. The Idaho title is barely dry and already there is more racing to do.
“We get off the plane and the weekend later we’re racing in New Zealand. We’ve got a tight little contest going with our season. We’re going to do a bit of pre-running straight away, but I guess we’re straight into it with our mindset. It’s going to be good.”
