Justin Barcia fired the first shot of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, taking a thrilling victory at the opening round of the series at Anaheim, in California, at the weekend.
It was a perfect night for Yamaha rider Barcia, taking both heat and main event wins.
The win didn’t come easy either. In addition to the stacked field in the premier class, Mother Nature threw in an extra challenge, dumping more and more water on the track. Barcia put his head down though, and knocked down the laps to take his first 450SX win since Seattle Supercross 2013.
Adding to an already stellar night for Yamaha as a whole, Barcia’s team-mate Aaron Plessinger had an impressive debut. The rookie was able to battle with the best, finishing third in his heat and sixth in the main event.
“Anaheim 1 was an awesome day. I had a lot of fun in practice, then going into the heat race it started to sprinkling a little,” said Barcia.
“I didn’t get the best start but made some good passes and got into the lead and won my heat race which was awesome, and it felt really good to get that first one out of the way at the first race. The main event it was really pouring down.
“It was looking tricky watching the 250 start so I definitely got a little excited and nervous and all those feelings you get at the first race. I got off to a pretty decent start and worked my way up to third by a little over half the race. I played it smart and tried to make no mistakes.
“One of the guys went down in front of me and then I was able to charge harder and catch the leader, make the pass and ride a smooth race to the win.
“For me this is incredible, I haven’t won a 450 race in over six years so it’s a pretty awesome feeling. I couldn’t be much happier, I’m really excited to go to Phoenix. I just want to stay, smart, smooth, fast, consistent and focus on the championship plate.”
Photo courtesy Yamaha USA
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RESULTS:
450cc Main Event
1 Justin Barcia – Yamaha
2 Ken Roczen – Honda
3 Eli Tomac – Kawasaki
4 Dean Wilson – Husqvarna
5 Cooper Webb – KTM
6 Aaron Plessinger – Yamaha
7 Malcolm Stewart – Honda
8 Marvin Musquin – KTM
9 Chad Reed – Suzuki
10 Cole Seely – Honda
11 Justin Brayton – Honda
12 Blake Baggett – KTM
13 Vince Friese – Honda
14 Jason Anderson – Husqvarna
15 Justin Hill – Suzuki
16 Joey Savatgy – Kawasaki
17 Carlen Gardner – Honda
18 Ben Lamay – Honda
19 Justin Bogle – KTM
20 Ryan Breece – Yamaha
21 Tyler Bowers – Kawasaki
22 Kyle Chisholm –
250cc Main Event
- Colt Nichols – Yamaha
- Dylan Ferrandis – Yamaha
- Shane McElrath – KTM
- RJ Hampshire – Honda
- Adam Cianciarulo – Kawasaki
- Garrett Marchbanks – Kawasaki
- Jimmy Decotis – Suzuki
- Jacob Hayes – Yamaha
- Chris Blose – Husqvarna
- Jess Pettis – KTM
- Cameron McAdoo – Honda
- Michael Mosiman – Husqvarna
- Martin Castelo – Suzuki
- Jerry Robin – KTM
- Enzo Lopes – Suzuki
- Sean Cantrell – KTM
- Matthew Jorgensen – KTM
- Bradley Lionnet – Yamaha
- Brandan Leith – Husqvarna
- Carson Brown – Husqvarna
- Thomas Do – Suzuki
- Logan Karnow – Kawasaki