Billy Jurevich doesn’t take as many risks as he used too. After all, the 30-year-old part-time motocross racer has a wife—his high school sweetheart, Kristen—and he’s also a Morgan Hill police officer.
“Now that I’m older, I’m a little smarter and I’m not going to do some of the things I did in the past,” said Jurevich, a Hollister native who won two gold medals in the 30-34 Expert category and Open Expert division at the World Police and Fire Games in Maryland. “But I can still compete with the young guys.”
The proof is in the results. Jurevich still takes calculated risks on the course, allowing him to excel whenever he enters a race. Last year Jurevich won races in Colorado and New Mexico, and he qualified for the top-tier main event shows at an American Motorcyclist Association competition in Reno.
The World Police and Fire Games—12,000 athletes from around the world competed in 62 sports from June 26 to July 5 in Maryland—proved to be an adrenaline rush for the 6-foot, 195-pound Jurevich, who was competing in the event for the first time.
“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” he said. “Who knows if I’ll ever do it again. I was able to enjoy it and take it all in.”
Jurevich decided at the beginning of the year to compete in the World Police and Fire Games. Knowing he wasn’t in tip-top physical shape, Jurevich said he lost 40 pounds in a couple of months by establishing a running routine, riding his bike and being more disciplined with his diet.
“I’ve done this for so long that I’ve got it down to a science,” he said. “I knew I had to get back in riding shape, and I just did the necessary things to get down to a weight where I could be a competitive rider.”
It pays to weigh less in motocross; the lighter you weigh, the more horsepower at your disposal. Jurevich attended San Benito High in the early 2000s before being home schooled for his junior and senior years so he could dedicate time to his pro riding aspirations.
Jurevich started racing in competitions at 12 before turning pro at 16. He spent countless hours at Hollister Hills S.V.R.A., and eventually traveled the country for competitions. After a couple of years, however, Jurevich realized he needed to find another career to make a living.
At 20, he went to a police academy before getting hired by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office a year later. Jurevich worked there for 6 ½ years before getting laid off as part of the sheriff’s office major staffing cuts in 2012. Shortly thereafter, Jurevich was hired at the Morgan Hill Police Department.
“It was my dream to make a living as a pro rider, but it’s not in the cards for most,” he said. “I did enough to get by and could pay for racing, but the problem was I wanted more than to live life out of a van or stay at my parents’ house until I was 50 years old. It’s an expensive sport, and luckily I still have lot of sponsors that help me this day.”
Morgan Hill-based Fox Racing has sponsored Jurevich since he was 16—proof that he’s still got some serious skills on the bike. Earlier this year, Jurevich won two events each at the Police and Fire Nationals and the U.S. Police and Fire Olympics, both in Glen Halen.
Jurevich loves the fact that he receives support to race from his fellow officers in Morgan Hill.
“They really support what I do and the fact that I can represent the department well at competitions,” he said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie and events like these helps those in law enforcement to stay in shape and be physically fit.”
Jurevich said it’s important for officers to have an outlet, since it is one of the most stressful jobs around. For Jurevich, a tough day at work can be alleviated by a solid day on the race track or in the hills.
“As a police officer, it’s real easy to let the job consume you,” he said. “The good thing is as soon as I take the dirt bike out to track, all I’m thinking about is riding.”
