JUSTIN BARCIA | GRIT-214 | 450SX

JUSTIN BARCIA | GRIT-214 | SX 450

Maintaining his march to victory lane, GasGas' Justin Bacia had continuously proven that his newfound confidence (and speed) weren't by chance. Even in Detroit last week, where the track was rather simplified and uniformed, Barcia found a way to gain time on his adversaries...even in the final portion(s) of the main event when the layout was second-nature to those in the division. His formula for working through the pack with a sense of raw, and world-renowned speed was destined to carry into Seattle as well; where his exhaust would echo throughout the stadium of Lumen Field, belting at its highest output en route to a fourth-place position at the conclusion of the afternoon. He was then stationed in the first heat, where his elbows were perpendicular to the ground following the dropping of the gate, and his dash to turn number-one with little regard for fear. Flicking the 450cc chassis every which way amid the first two laps of competition, he seemed to adopt a pace that was paralleled to the top-three despite being stuck outside of the top-five. Though Barcia wasn't one to become discouraged, tripling onto tabletop(s) and overtop various high(er) landing ramps that weren't necessarily made for descending, but the GasGas rider was confident in pushing the envelope when necessary as he passed the Honda of Cole Seely. Now into fourth, Barcia would cast a multitude of combinations in order to pass the Kawasaki of Cianciarulo but it was to no avail and the New York native would be forced to reside just inside the top-five prior to exiting the raceway. His outlook for the main event remained gripped by that of the first turn, where he wasn't thinking about anything other than emerging from the confines of the opening lap with an advantageous position. And after bursting to a position inside the latter half of the top-ten, there was little that could divert him from striving to the top of the leaderboard. Steadily moving into ninth, eighth, and seventh, he would sit behind Jason Anderson (who had sixth) with roughly fourteen minutes left on the clock. Barcia was urgent though and insisted continuing to climb as quickly as possible, passing the number twenty-one while tailing Cooper Webb. In the process of doing that, he also overtook Adam Cianciarulo for a position in the top five as Chase Sexton could be seen crashing to the ground in the corners that were just ahead. Dashing to the rear wheel of the Honda rider, he would stay vigilant on which lines were advantageous and chose to make a move as the twelve minute mark came to pass, now entering a fourth-place residency with Roczen in front of him! He would be setting some of the fastest lap-times of the moto which allowed him to move around the Suzuki rider just before the whoops (with roughly eight minutes remaining)! All the while, he couldn't ignore the pressure that was cast on behalf of Chase Sexton (who'd returned to fourth)...but somehow, someway, Barcia's focus couldn't be thwarted. Nearly catching Webb (on the white flag circuit) Justin remained composed in third while crossing the finish-line in a bronze medal registry, proving that his speed continued to be on the rise amid this 2023 series.

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