JUSTIN BARCIA | GRIT-211 | 450SX

JUSTIN BARCIA | GRIT-211 | SX 450

Proving that his talent was still world-class and of the highest level, GasGas' Justin Barcia would showcase an abundance of speed throughout the day while racing in Daytona. He'd steadily pushed forward throughout various rounds on the tour, showing that his skillset was still very relevant in the championship conversation, even as he's hit neared the age of thirty-one. Which continued to boost the esteem of the New York native as he flew onto the track for qualification at the Daytona International Speedway. Throwing caution to the wind as he blasted his 450cc machine into the sand, he would use the berm(s) as a means of stopping power; foregoing the brakes as he channeled as much RPM as possible while on the ground and throughout the air. Carving a definitive niche inside the top-six of qualifying times, it would then be up to the veteran to shift matters into gear for the heat race that followed. Doing his best to migrate to the top of the field, Barcia withstood a barrage of roost from Eli Tomac and Ken Roczen who assembled their machines at the front of the back. Scrubbing his way through the largest rhythm lanes on the track, his body English was portraying a racer that wanted to move forward; using every ounce of power possible within his GasGas motor. Lap after lap, you could hear his exhaust ring-out with exclamation of authority and overt revving, which let everyone in the field know as to how serious he was to push ahead. He would ultimately reside third through the white flag lap as well, defending the podium registry from Aaron Plessinger who was just behind before departing to the finalé. Following an early race lead to the main event by none other than Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac, Justin would reside fourth as he took the green flag. Chase Sexton would be third, and unlike a multitude of other races within the past, "JB51" wasn't letting the leaders of the championship scurry away. Instead, he was actually setting some of (and the) fastest lap-time of the moto, while catching up to the rear wheel of the Illinois native in front of him. This would lead to the first of two problematic occurrences, as Sexton's mistake before the "SX" triple would have him jumping to the right and in the line of Barcia; with nowhere to go, the two's paths were inseparable which caused Barcia to ricochet off-track. Visibly frustrated, Justin was relentless in his return of a top-three pursuit. This wouldn't take long, as only moments later, Chase would stall the motorcycle in the inside rut of the elevated corner. The fifty-one then saw another opportunity to dash around the outside, leaping off the ledge and into the left-handed inside groove that followed...but that's exactly what Sexton aspired to do as well! Coming together once again, this occurrence would leave Barcia on the ground! Getting up as quickly as possible, he would do enough to retain fourth and gather an admirable bundle of laps to conclude the moto, finishing with speed that put the division on notice.

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