Page 64 - ISSUE42

JUSTIN BARCIA
450 SX / 12TH
IMAGE / MPG WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / WILSON
>> Since his season debut in Minneapolis, Justin Barcia has taken baby steps in the right direction. Coming off a wrist injury, he threw himself right into the thick of the season that was already in full swing. It is so tough for riders to make debuts mid-season because it is hard to match the intensity and flow that the rest of the racers are already feeling. Barcia definitely struggled at his first two races but he has begun to show flashes of his old “Bam Bam” self here recently. A heat race win a few weeks ago at Daytona was a big confidence boost and he has used that to finish in the top ten at two of the last three races. He entered Detroit look- ing for another one.
The slick, technical track inside Ford Field did not suit Barcia’s riding style and it showed in qualifying practice. He escaped with the eighteenth fastest time far from where he’d like to be.
When the gate dropped in his heat race, Barcia got out to a decent seventh place start. He stayed log-jammed in that position slowly closing the gap on Webb in sixth. He finally got within striking distance on the final lap and rallied past him and as well as Jake Weimer to finish fifth, just one spot off a transfer. His charge came up just short so it was onto the semis. Barcia suffered a terrible start in the semi back in ninth place. He could not find that same speed and aggression he had at the end of his heat race resulting in him not finishing in a transfer spot.
He had one more try in the LCQ. Barcia made one-hundred percent sure he was going to be lining up for the main event by ripping the holeshot in the LCQ and taking the easy win. He was hoping to turn his night around with a solid result. Barcia tried setting himself up with a good start from his poor gate pick but he ended up getting tangled in the first corner with several other riders. He remount- ed and snagged the green flag way back in nineteenth. He steadily charged throughout the race picking up a spot or two here and there until he got the checkered flag in twelfth place. It was a resilient ride from Barcia who is still trying to find his groove this season.
64 GRITMOTO • MARCH 26, 2017