LUCAS OIL AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 51 ISSUE 23 JUNE 10, 2014 P69
Briefly...
Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Barcia
was a late-race scratch at Colorado.
While practicing late in the week,
he suffered an ankle injury. After
DNFing a moto at the series opener
at Glen Helen and finishing fourth
overall a week later at Hangtown,
Barcia was sixth in the 450-class
points standings, but with his DNS at
Thunder Valley, he has slipped back
to 11
th
. "We are really bummed that
Justin has to miss out on this week-
end's race," said Team Manager Dan
Betley. "He has been riding really
well the last couple weeks and after
an impressive performance last year
at Colorado, we had high hopes for
him heading into the event. We look
forward to his return." Honda, how-
ever, has not mentioned when that
might be.
The Thunder Valley race welcomed
the return of the BTO Sports/KTM's
Matt Goerke. He's been out of ac-
tion with an elbow injury since late
March, but he came roaring back at
Colorado, qualifying 11
th
in the 450
class and finishing out the day 15
th
overall with 14-16 motos. Goerke's
teammate, local favorite Andrew
Short, rode well, going 6-9 for
eighth overall.
Valli Motorsport Yamaha's Chris-
tophe Pourcel was for the third
straight time the quickest qualifier in
the 250 class, yet the former MX2
World Champion has yet to con-
tend for the win and has just one
podium finish so far. However, each
week, the Frenchman looks faster
and more comfortable on the bike
and many expect a win from the Ya-
maha rider at any time. At Colorado,
Pourcel was slowed by a front-brake
problem and finished 11
th
. He came
continued on next page
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHAN MOORE
R
ound three of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Cham-
pionship in Lakewood, Colorado, saw a pair of new
moto winners gracing the podiums, with Yoshimura
Suzuki's James Stewart grabbing his first moto victory of the
year in the 450 class in race one, and Monster Energy Pro
Circuit Kawasaki's Blake Baggett doing the same in the 250
class, his win coming in the final 250 moto.
Stewart's victory came at the expense of last week's
Hangtown winner Ken Roczen, who pushed the Suzuki rider
near the end of the moto but was just too late to the party af-
ter starting the race in the bottom half of the top 10. Roczen
came back strong, however, in moto two to claim a dominat-
ing win and secure his second overall victory of the season.
ROCZEN REPEAT
Ken Roczen wins again and
Blake Baggett returns to the top
