race recap
JUSTIN BARCIA - GRIT 248 450SX
June 3, 2024 · Justin Barcia
GRIT-248 | 450 SX
May 20, 2024 9:45 am
The New York native was still in contention to have a strong overall result in the series, if certain events were to fall in his favor. But Justin Barcia had to, remain within an optimal position if he hoped to take advantage of any mistake, by other athletes who resided in front of him within the point standings. Therefore after practice had concluded, his mindset was solely focused on obtaining a strong gate choice for the main event...which would come by way of heat two. A somewhat solid first lap (where he garnered fifth) wasn't necessarily what was most-desired for the GasGas athlete, but he pressed forward anyway. A few close calls in the moments thereafter, would hinder him from clawing to the front of the pack as quickly as desired...but with attrition he battled opponents like Jason Anderson, Vince Friese, and Shane McElrath, while doing his best to follow Hunter Lawrence to the pinnacle of the field. Barcia took advantage of mistakes being made by his opponents, and actually kept Jason Anderson within a respectable distance (after the Kawasaki rider moved forward) while both veteran's were racing to the finish line. Ultimately categorized in sixth, ahead of Friese and McElrath, Barcia was on his way to redemption in the main event. It was just last year, where Barcia had a season ending crash in Music City...and the fearlessness of "JB51" showed as he leapt from the line without hesitation for the finalé. Scrubbing his way over the "SX' double while carving through the sand without ever letting go of the throttle, his rampant style was working on this technical track - leaping through rhythm lanes and landing on the gas, no matter how hard the "thud" when returning to the stadium floor. He had somehow manage to fly from an original standing of eleventh, to that of seventh by lap two! And as Chase Sexton unfortunately crashed, it was Barcia who was solidified in sixth by lap five! Now defending his territory from Justin Cooper when moving past the halfway point, the two athletes were fender to fender when exiting the whoop section and seat hopping their way through the triple-triple combination thereafter. But for this occasion, the elder New York native (i.e. Barcia) wasn't going to let Cooper around...showing the other resident of the Northeast, who possessed the furthered skill for this particular instance. Cooper was relentless in pursuit of higher positioning, but Barcia wasn't going to wither...remaining in the fight for a hard-fought fifth-place overall score!