JUSTIN BARCIA

The former 250cc standout and legendary 450cc athlete thus far in his career, had rekindled his speed of old in recent weeks...bringing fans to their feet as he arrived to the Utah venue on Saturday. Justin Barcia, was an infamous name throughout racing history — and proceeded to embody a competitive spirit like no other, when leaping over the largest gaps in practice with a daring and fearless mentality. This translated to the first heat race thereafter, where he made a quick move into second amid the first corner area, and Barcia immediately attacked the rear wheel of Jett Lawrence who led the field around in his heat race. Justin was fearless when blitzing through the whoop section, letting the rear wheel of the GasGas machine swap side to side while remaining unfazed by the possibility of crashing! This was undoubtedly one of the veteran’s strongest performances of the year, proving that he and his fellow era of competitors (born in the early 1990’s) still had it! Barcia wasn’t going to let Jett Lawrence run away that easily...and as Justin eventually made his way to the checkered flag, the prowess he displayed, ultimately led to a second-place position being garnered. The swagger of Barcia was evident as the gates fell for the main event, and the number fifty-one was able to acquire a standing of sixth, before inheriting a position due to Hunter Lawrence’s crash and inheriting fifth by the time the fourth lap arose. Once there, he would analyze the pathways of Jason Anderson in front of him...waiting for the fellow veteran to make a mistake, and knowing the patterns of the New Mexico native after racing with him for well over twenty years! However, Anderson wasn’t folding under pressure — and even with Hunter Lawrence running the Kawasaki rider to the outside of the racetrack at one point, the lapse in speed wasn’t enough for Barcia to overtake the athlete aboard the number twenty-one machine. Continuing to rev his GasGas engine with authority, the body-english that he displayed over the pop-up tunnel jump was classic Barcia style...commanding the chassis to go in certain directions, with finesse that couldn’t be replicated by any of his peers. With Malcolm Stewart behind him throughout the final quarter of the moto, Barcia would identify the Husqvarna competitor and appear to match the pace of the Floridian as necessary...leading to a fifth-place overall score being clinched at the finish line, and an array of momentum being garnered for the upcoming motocross championship.