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JUSTIN BARCIA
450 MX / 9TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / ROEWER DESIGN / MPG
>> Justin Barcia has been working hard on and off the bike to get him- self back on top of that podium. Finishing Outdoors last year with some strong finishes, he has had a slow start to 2017. Heading into Round 3 of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, the JGR Suzuki rider has yet to see a po- dium finish. Adjusting to the high altitude of Lakewood, Colorado, Barcia was laying down some quick practice times, qualifying into the day 8th overall. Lined up and ready to go, the #51 charged hard out of the gate in moto 1 settling into a nice 3rd place. Tackling the tough conditions
of the track, Barcia was hanging on tightly to his position working hard to not let Eli Tomac get by him. Fighting as hard as he can, Tomac still got the pass and Barcia fell back to 4th. Stepping up his game from previous weekends, Barcia was beginning to look like his old self again battling with his old competitor. It was an impressive race for Yamaha rider where he finished 6th losing a couple positions to Seely and Mus- quin. Heading into moto two the ruts were deeper, the sun was lower, and Barcia was ready to leave it all on the track. Carrying his momen- tum from moto one, he grabbed himself another impressive 3rd place start. Holding off Jason Anderson for the first part of the race, Barcia was pushed back to 4th immediately put under the pressure of Marvin Musquin. Unable to hold off the points leader he fell back another spot into 5th place. He continued to fall back each lap until he settled into an 8th place position. Unfortunately for Justin Barcia his momentum carried him backwards as the rest of the race played out until he landed him- self in 12th place. Finishing off round three of pro motocross with 6-12 finishes he was right within the top ten for a 9th overall for the day.
52 GRITMOTO • JUNE 4, 2017