Page 96 - MPG15

JUSTIN BARCIA
Justin Barcia is the number one rider over at JGR which was undoubtedly apparent during the second
half of the Motocross season last year. Bam Bam routinely challenged Ryan Dungey for race wins after
a little bit of fun in the mud at Budds Creek propelled his confidence into another dimension. He was riding with a purpose reminiscent of his dominance on the Geico Honda team during his stint in the 250 class and he was hoping to bring that same intensity indoors for the 2016 SX season. While preparing during the week leading up to A1, Barcia had a mountain bike crash in which he injured his hand. He tore a ligament in his thumb (commonly referred to as Skier’s Thumb), but he still attempted to race through the injury at the start of the season. The first race at Anaheim was a huge disappointment by Barcia’s standards - he started up front and dropped all the way back to 15th place after crashing and suffering arm pump. San Diego wasn’t much better as he could only muster an 11th place finish. Now the hierarchy at JGR isn’t nearly as apparent with Nicoletti putting in the same results during fill in rides as well as Peick regularly challenging Barcia week in and week out. After his podium performances towards the second half of the outdoor season, Barcia came into the Supercross season hoping to be challenging for race wins and consistently finishing on the podium. The pain from his injury combined with the dismal results forced him to step away from racing and undergo surgery on his thumb. He was replaced by Phil Nicoletti until he was fit to return to racing at the Santa Clara SX. Barcia is still struggling to put in the results demanded by the status he has at a team as illustrious as JGR. His best finish since returning from injury was an 11th place last week at St. Louis. Will he be able to continue in that direction and break into the top 10 before the season comes to an end?
96 GRITMOTO • APRIL.25.16
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