GRIT 312 — 450SX — 8th — Justin Barcia

This had been one of the most iconic and unforgettable seasons in recent memory, for that of the 450SX division.

Athletes including Ken Roczen and Hunter Lawrence, had created quite the narrative for this championship plot — though the skills of Justin Barcia couldn't be overlooked, as he had powered to the front of the field over a variety of racing surfaces. His hard-work in the off-season, which had created a significant base of physical fitness, was continuing to be revealed (even at this point of the tour! Not to mention, amongst the higher elevation which this round of racing in Colorado presented! For that of heat race one, Barcia would speed from the line to collect the second-place standing. He was keeping athletes including Hunter Lawrence at bay, while pursuing Christian Craig with an aggressive mentality. He would make the pass on Craig, for that of lap three, however, a red-flag was thrown where the field was forced to form a single-file line on the opening straightaway. From there, the New York native did his best to break away from the field. However, even with a sprinting mindset (on exceptional velocity being shown. at this stage in his return from injury), the diminished gap (due to the restart) appeared to play into the hand of Honda's Hunter Lawrence. Barcia would do everything possible to try and keep the championship contender behind him, though with two laps to go, Hunter advanced forward. Thus, the Ducati athlete continued to embrace the applause from the crowd, whipping his chassis throughout the technical circuit to claim second at the checkered flag. For the main event, Barcia would begin the contest in sixth, before advancing into fifth (due to Eli Tomac's mistake in the sand). He remained here through the fifth lap, before being surpassed by Tomac, who was riding at a phenomenal pace. The former amateur competitors, (both born in the year of 1992), were now (again) going bar-to-bar well into their thirty's! Once passed by "ET3" he would do his best to fight among single-digit territory. His line of defense was admirable, but opponents including Chase Sexton, Malcolm Stewart, and Garrett Marchbanks, would all quarrel with Barcia at one point or another...and eventually move ahead. Though with mistakes by adversaries such as Cooper Webb, It was Barcia who would move into the eighth-place standing with approximately three laps to go Ultimately, he charged past the checkered flag in this standing... though with multiple weeks now, with impactful heat race performances, it's clear that the native of New York still can construct a phenomenal pace on the motorcycle