JUSTIN BARCIA - GRIT 246 450SX

GRIT-246 |450 SX

May 20, 2024 9:45 am

Never one to be counted out, New York's Justin Barcia was continuing to ascend throughout the 2024 season - and put forth an admirable effort, for round twelve of the championship. After analyzing the track throughout various practice sessions, "JB51" was ready to engage at the highest levels of speed, on a relatively smooth circuit of operation for the of moto-one. Claiming fifth, behind that of Ken Roczen as the clock began to tick, he occupied fourth thereafter as Hunter Lawrence's mistake deterred him from outside of the top-five. Barcia was applying the full extent of his throttle to the abundance of traction that this Missouri venue offered - racing from corner to corner with little regard for fear, while revving his engine to its highest level(s) of sound! Though Jett Lawrence had then definitively moved in front of him, Barcia and Jason Anderson began to battle over the fifth-place standing...though the Kawasaki rider was able to navigate the segment(s) before the finish line just a tad bit better, solidifying the claim of the New Mexico native to control Barcia's previous result. Cooper Webb, as well, would overtake Justin in the final moments when leaping past him to the outside of one of the longest rhythm lanes on the track...deterring Barcia to sixth - but he would cement the standing of GasGas machine there, leaving the raceway with the aforementioned position occupied, before moving into the latter portions of competition. His infiltration of the top-ten (in round two) after initiating the contest in thirteenth, was one that presented constant daring maneuvering over the largest obstacles on the track...scrubbing the highest of take-off's with an unbelievable flick of the chassis! His time-saving techniques were catalysts of sorts, which aided his ability to occupy standing(s) that hovered between ninth and tenth at the halfway point. Pursuing that of Malcolm Stewart, he inherited eighth after a mistake from Justin Cooper...but few could predict what was about to occur in regard to penalties applied. Numerous racers in front of him would leap over the red cross flag at the finish line, subsequently causing them to lose positions throughout the top-ten...and as a result, Justin's final standing (of fourth) was one that certainly boosted his confidence for the finalé. The concluding fourteen lap quest, was a platform where he and Justin Cooper combatted one another. Line by line, and jump by jump, the veteran and the full-time rookie were head-to-head for the duration of the moto. Though the Yamaha rider was able to get the best of Barcia (by one spot), JB's final standing (of tenth) when combined with his other two results, propelled him to sixth on the final leaderboard!

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