and I remember everything. I just
jumped over the table a little bit too
far, hit false neutral, and that was it.
My shoulders are okay, my legs are
okay, I'm just really happy with my
off-season training. All the weightlift-
ing stuff, it's like durability, and I think
that paid off for me. The first hour or
so after [the crash], I really wasn't
sure if I was going to race or not."
BARCIA/MUSQUIN?
After Marvin Musquin injured his
shoulder in Houston, his team
started calling around for possible
fill-in racers, and rumor has it that
Justin Barcia was one of the rac-
ers who got a phone call. Barcia
is currently on a six-race deal as a
fill-in racer for injured Davi Millsaps,
and he scored a podium finish at
the first two races of the season.
At Anaheim II, Barcia finished two
spots in front of teammate Cooper
Webb in all three main events, and
he currently is a very solid third in
the points at the halfway point in
his six-race deal. What's interesting
about this is that Barcia revealed
to us at the Monster Energy Cup
that he thought he was slated to get
the second spot on the Red Bull
KTM team that ended up going to
Broc Tickle for 2018. Apparently,
it was Red Bull who nixed Barcia
because of his longtime affiliation
with Monster Energy. After Barcia
scored a podium at the season
opener, Yamaha apparently didn't
feel a need to rush and sign Barcia
for the remainder of the season,
but after his second podium in a
row, KTM started calling. This may
have started a bidding war for a
racer whom teams apparently didn't
believe was worthy of a full-year
contract prior to the start of 2018.
However, with Musquin now back
racing again, presuming he's able
to continue and will improve as he
goes, it's also possible that the Bar-
cia bidding war will die down again
as fast as it started. No matter how
it plays out, it's obvious that Barcia
deserves a full-time factory ride, no
matter what color the motorcycle is,
or which energy drink sponsors the
team.
Briefly...
VOL. 55 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 23, 2018 P61
Adam Cianciarulo
came back after a
brutal crash in the
daytime qualifiers that
nearly ended his day
to finish fourth overall.
