Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/941070
MONSTER ENERGY/KNICH/FACTORY YAMAHA'S JUSTIN BARCIA P78 INTERVIEW well. You want it to work good ev- erywhere, really, but the biggest thing is always making the sus- pension the best you can have. After the last season you were left without a ride and you had to go out on your own. How hard was that after having been on factory-backed teams for you entire professional ca- reer? Suddenly you had to do everything yourself. How did you adjust? You know, I was happier doing it on my own than being on the factory team I was on, honestly. I just wasn't really uncomfort- able and didn't believe in myself anymore and didn't believe in the bikes. I took a break and I went out to get some bikes and build them up; we raced for a weekend [Monster Energy Cup] and I just hat a lot of fun. But it was very hard, it was challenging, and I ob- viously thought I deserved a fac- tory ride right away. Big surprise finding out I was wrong. A big surprise coming to others soon, too, who think they deserve anything. But it's better that I had to deal with it this way, because I had to prove to myself and show people that I still have the speed and stuff. Was not having a factory ride kind of an eye-opening experience for you? No, I wouldn't say it was. I mean; I was just in a rough place in racing in general. I was just struggling really bad and, af- ter the season, I kind of took a break, and I wasn't sure if I could come back and race again, or if I was going to retire from racing and do something else. But I wanted to race some more. Thus, Yeah, for sure. I was at JGR a couple of years and I was just—with all the injuries I had and with the bike setup and stuff like that—I was never able to dial it in to my liking. It wasn't like it really had anything to do with anyone, it was just that I wasn't comfort- able. I was never really comfort- able there. I was comfortable at a couple of outdoor races, but in supercross, I could just never get it all right, and before the season, I had some bike issues and got hurt, and I just never [was] able to get my confidence back while I was there. What's most important for you on your bike? Suspension, engine or something else? I think the most important thing on the bike is the suspen- sion. You want to go good in the whoops and you want it to turn Barcia says he never felt completely comfortable at his former team. "You know, I was happier doing it on my own than being on the factory team I was on honestly."