Anaheim SX: ‘We had some great battles out there’ – Barcia

Troy Lee Designs GasGas Justin Barcia secured a podium finish for the first round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at Anaheim.

As a three time consecutive Round one winner, all eyes were on Barcia to see if he would make it four in a row. Qualifying tenth earlier in the day, BAMBAM got right down to business battling up front in the first heat race of the night. He kept a steady pace aboard his MC 450F, ultimately making a late charge to secure fourth in the heat. 

With a class full of heavy hitters, the 450SX Main Event was full of excitement from start to finish. Barcia grabbed a top five start and he managed the early chaos to settle into the fourth spot. Riding patiently through the first half of the race, Barcia set himself up to capitalize on a podium position later in the race. He moved into second around the midway point and it was a battle to the finish between Barcia and the defending champ, Cooper Webb, who ultimately edged him out for the spot. All smiles on the podium, Barcia enjoyed celebrating a podium finish to kick off a fun season in 2022.

“That was an awesome race!’ said Barica. “I had a lot of fun and we had some great battles out there.”

“The pressure is off now and I can work on myself, keep plugging along and having fun. It’s been a great offseason and it’s just good to get this first race out of the way. I’m happy with the result, it’s a good podium finish, and we definitely have some things to build on. I’m really looking forward to the next race, bonding with the guys, having fun and going for it!”