JUSTIN BARCIA | GRIT-213 | 450SX

JUSTIN BARCIA | GRIT-213 | SX 450

Undoubtedly proving that his talent was still world-renowned, GasGas' Justin Barcia would "come out swinging" when the bell rang inside Detroit's Ford Field. Barcia's aggression had never been higher, and allowed him to carry an eighth-place designation as qualifying would cease in the afternoon hours. This positioned him into heat number one, where a solid start would have him inside the top-five, as Jason Anderson attempted to break away from the field. After moving around Grant Harlan and Kevin Moranz, Barcia was focusing on nothing, but the number twenty-one who was distanced in the foreground. Continuously searching for faster pathways with an outlandish sense of throttle twisting, the waves of sound from his exhaust would ricochet from the walls of the stadium; his engine crying out, and being heard for miles as he clawed at the New Mexico native just ahead. Though their past was littered with rough battles and bar-banging action, there wasn't too much distance between these two adversaries for anything of that sort to occur. Barcia would then go on, to claim second, prior to moving forward to the final platform of the evening. The narrative for the main event was beyond action-packed, with riders shifting placements and positions on the leaderboard as fast as many could imagine! Barcia would be on pace to battle within the highest standings of the field, throwing the GasGas machine around while quickly moving from fifth to fourth (by overtaking Adam Cianciarulo), and zeroing-in on Eli Tomac as the fifth lap concluded. However before they past the finish-line to complete lap six, it was the number one who'd made a mistake on the step-on/step-off obstacle...and Barcia would proceed to blitz by over the dragon's back and left-handed corner before the finish-line! Now with Tomac in the rearview, he approached Webb at the dragon's back once again; and slung the 450 chassis beneath him from outside to inside, with erratic throttle twisting all the while somehow making the pass stick in the outside of the next corner! He was truly on a mission at this point, but it would be around the ten minute mark, when the narrative began to shift for the New York native. Sexton would substantially gain on him in whoop section, (around the halfway point) which led to a series of block passes and dives being enacted on both of their behalves. However, it was the twenty-three who surged ahead, and allowed Webb to then close in as well. The KTM rider would then cut (and pass) underneath of Barcia just as the ten-minute mark had passed, squaring up the corner before the longest rhythm lane on the track while pushing the GasGas rider into fourth! But it was then Tomac, who wanted to travel one position further as well; where a slide-out of sorts would occur on behalf of the fifty-one, in the corner after the largest "SX" double on the circuit! Eli made the move with confidence, sending Justin to fifth for the foreseeable future...until Aaron Plessinger's crash would shift the majority of the field forward, granting Barcia fourth as the dust settled in Detroit.

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