P74
INTERVIEW
MONSTER ENERGY/KNICH/FACTORY YAMAHA'S JUSTIN BARCIA
I
t really doesn't seem all that long
ago that Justin Barcia was one
of the most highly sought after
racers in motocross. Every team
wanted him. And why not? He was
insanely fast, wasn't afraid to bang
bars with the already established
riders when he was a rookie, and
had that flamboyant personality that
teams—and fans—like. To this day,
Barcia still has all these qualities but
the difference is: no one wants him.
At least up until a few weeks ago.
Since moving up to the 450cc
class after winning two 250SX East
Championships in 2011 and 2012,
even he will tell that he has not lived
up to expectations, which were
super high especially after winning
the Monster Energy Cup in his first
race on a 450 in 2012 as a member
of the Honda factory team. Since
then, Barcia has had some suc-
cess but not the kind everyone was
expecting. You could blame some
of that on injuries—he's had more
than his fair share, that is true—but,
for some reason, he seemed to
lack the fire of the early days of his
professional career. As a result,
he's burned through a couple of
factory-supported race teams,
including his last full-time gig with
JGRMX that gave up on him after
three years. Suddenly, he was left
without a ride with the 2018 season
rapidly approaching and was un-
able to land a factory ride. But that
didn't deter him. Instead, he went
out and put together his own team
and showed up at the 2017 Monster
Energy Cup on a private Honda. He
didn't set the world on fire that night
but he did show that he was indeed
determined to turn his racing career
around, and the factory Yamaha
team took notice. So when Davi
Millsaps went down with an injury,
Barcia was at the top of Yamaha's
fill-in list. At the time, Millsaps was
expected to miss at least the first six
rounds of the series and Barcia was
told he could step in for Millsaps
for those races if he wanted. Barcia
jumped at the opportunity to prove
himself again, and he has certainly
BY MARTIN ANDERSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOPPENWORLD.COM AND KIT
JUSTIN BARCIA TALKS ABOUT CHANGES IN HIS LIFE AND HIS
RESURGENCE IN THIS YEAR'S SUPERCROSS SERIES
C O M E B A C K K I D
