BARCIA EXTENDS
POINTS LEAD IN
AMA SX
Y
amaha rider Justin Barcia overcame plenty
of obstacles to take a runner-up finish in
St. Louis, Missouri, to advance his lead in
the 450SX standings at the second round of the
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
While Honda’s Ken Roczen stormed to the
win after leading 23 of 24 laps – his first
main-event victory since January 14, 2017,
after a couple of years plagued by injury – it
was still Yamaha man Bacia at the top of the
standings at the end of the St. Louis event.
“It was a pretty tough day for me”, Barcia said.
“I was really sick all week, and I just had to be
mentally tough and push through the difficulties
I was having today. My heat race went really well.
I got a bad start, but I fought through the pack
and got up to third. I made some really great
passes, so that was awesome. In the Main Event,
I got a much better start and quickly moved into
second. I was pushing really hard, but tonight
the best I had was second. I rode really well,
considering. I felt like I rode better today than I
did in Anaheim. I just, unfortunately, was a little
under the weather. So, all in all, a really good day.
The team did a great job with the motorcycle
and setting it up. I’m really looking to get better
this week and feeling better for Anaheim.”
Heading into the weekend, Barcia was one of
the multiple riders in the Supercross paddock
to find himself battling illness in addition to the
competition. Although feeling under the weather,
he was determined to hold on to his advantage
in the title chase, and the coveted red plate. In
addition to not feeling well, a crash earlier in the
day had the team pulling together to get the bike
setup back to optimum for conditions at The Dome
at America’s Center. Barcia was able to rebound to
qualify fifth. Although the 27-year-old got a poor
start in his Heat, he pushed through to salvage
a decent gate pick with a third-place finish.
In the Main Event, Barcia got a much better
start and quickly worked his way into third.
He didn’t waste any time advancing to second
and was able to put some separation between
himself and the competition while they were
locked in a heated battle for third. From there
on out, the Florida resident maintained a solid
spot in second and scored some very valuable
championship points on a day that wasn’t his best.
“It was a great night in St. Louis, and it
almost feels like a win after some early
obstacles”, said team manager Jim Perry.
“Justin came down with a cold at the end of
the week, and he was not feeling 100 percent.
He was pushing through it and practice was
going well until he got cross-rutted and went off
track, landing on the concrete. The team worked
together like a well-oiled machine and replaced
parts from Justin’s crash and were able get the
bike’s setup back for the tacky, rutty track.
“In the Heat race, both Justin and Aaron got off
to a bad start, but both rode well to transfer
to the Main. When the gate dropped for the
Main Event, Justin started inside the top five
and quickly moved to second place where he
would finish, extending his points lead to six.
KIWI RIDER 15