Page 72 - Issue43

JUSTIN BARCIA
450 SX / 15TH
IMAGE / LANGSTON WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / WILSON
>> It seems as it was just yesterday we were discussing the rumors and speculation of the 2017 Supercross series; bench racing on who was to dominate, the dark horses, who was to get injured and so on. With the devastating injury to Ken Roczen a few rounds into the tour, and with riders such as Jimmy Albertson and Trey Canard being forced to sit on the sidelines, its albeit unfortunately, given a bit of new life to some of those in the series, knowing that some of the most coveted spots in the sport are now up for grabs. Justin Barcia knows what’s at stake; he understands that with one ride, one solid effort that lurks deep within that jersey, that praise, contractual spiking, and more attention can be gained. You’re only as good as your last race,
so with all that’s happened to him so far this year, STL offers a new chance and new dawn
of beginnings, as this is truly the Gateway to the West, with the series moving to Seattle next week. He was riding as though his life depended on it in practice, and maybe just a tad too much, as his tire was trying to wash, especially in the flats. His mechanic told him to stay off the tank a tad less, and weight his center of mass over the midpoint of the seat, a strategy he would hold through and through for the rest of the day, as what was a shiny bit of Midwestern loam, would be chewed up and placed with a bit of light reflection by night’s end. Getting through the rigorous qualifying tasks, when the lights came on to dance for the main event, the cameras were rolling, the press had line the boundaries of layout, it was on. He shot out of the gate, be- ing forced to check up due to the overwhelming pressure the pack put on him. Staying in single track for most of the first lap, he had to push the pace in order to keep up with the stronghold
of the field. Each time through the whoops, you could read his eyes scanning like a laser from side to side, trying to pick the optimum route, all the while lugging the 450 a gear tall. He was shown a front wheel before the triple on multiple occasions, but he would never hesitate to pull the trigger (or in the rhythm lane following the dragon’s backs); all he would give is a subtle look over his left shoulder, glancing out of his left eye with his pupils zoomed in on the opposition’s fender, and then continue to move forward. Clipping haybales as he would hug the inside ruts, he would falter a few times, slipping near the 16th positions despite his efforts to move forward. There was one helluva a freight train for the entire moto just in front of him, and although tripling on to the step on step off section, it just didn’t seem to be enough.Hovering just near 15th for the majority of the moto, and being the recipient of advancement due to a few riders pulling off, he would just try and salvage what he could by the time the referee took out the Zebra spotted flag, and waved it with back and forth motions; timing and scoring would have him finishing in 15th, and looking forward to what the series brings again on the West Coast.
72 GRITMOTO • APRIL 2, 2017