Justin Barcia Scores His Third-Straight Podium Finish At Round 7 Of The Pro Motocross Championship
The Monster Energy/Yamaha
Factory Racing Team emerged from Round 7 of the 2018 AMA Pro
Motocross Championship with a hard-fought performance on Saturday
as Justin Barcia claimed his third-consecutive 450MX overall podium
and Cooper Webb continued to build on his return from injury with
seventh overall at the RedBud National in Buchanan,
Michigan.
In the 250MX class, Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha Racing's
Aaron Plessinger led almost every lap of the day to claim his third
pair of 1-1 sweeps this season, further extending his championship
lead to 35 points.
450MX
In Moto 1, Barcia got a decent jump off the start but he went down
in the first turn and began from the back of the pack. He fought
hard to climb his way from last into a top-ten position before the
halfway point. Determined, Barcia continued to work his way through
the pack to finish a strong fourth in Moto 1. Meanwhile, Webb
started just outside the top five on the opening lap, where he
battled for a top-ten position for the rest of the moto. After
swapping positions back-and-forth, Webb secured seventh.
In Moto 2, Barcia powered his way into third on the opening lap and
he maintained a steady pace in third for the first 30 minutes. As
the two-lap card came out, Barcia upped the pace and made a
confident move to overtake second-place on the final lap. From
there, he continued to charge after the leader, finishing only 3.9
seconds back for second-place. Webb started off in seventh on lap
one before shooting up to fifth on the second lap. He maintained a
top-five position for nearly half of the race before dropping back
to tenth on lap seven. Webb rallied back to ultimately finish
seventh in the moto and seventh overall for the day.
Justin Barcia, 450MX #51
(Moto 1 = 4th / Moto 2 = 2nd / Overall = 3rd)
"Today was a good day. The first moto was very difficult, I went
down in the first corner and came from pretty much last to fourth.
It was a solid ride but I kind of felt like I needed to make some
bike changes before the second moto, and we did that. The second
moto, I kind of went forward and back a little but made a really
strong charge on the last lap. I wish I could have put a charge on
a little earlier in the second moto to try to get that first win
but I felt like I made some great progress with the bike today and
I'm excited for a weekend off to regroup, do a little bit of
testing and get my bike comfortable. It's getting a lot better each
week - I'm really happy with that - and I can't wait for the next
race!"
Cooper Webb, 450MX #2 (Moto 1 = 7th / Moto 2 = 7th /
Overall = 7th)
"RedBud was good for me, it was a step in the right direction. I
got a pretty good start in the first moto and was able to pass some
people and get into seventh. Second moto, I got a better start and
had a good battle with some guys, kind of fell off the pace a
little bit and then made my way back forward toward the end and got
seventh again. It was a nice building day, but I'm looking forward
to this off-time to get a little faster, get a little more
endurance and try to go into Millville and get a top-five."
450MX Results - RedBud
- Marvin Musquin, KTM, (2-1)
- Ken Roczen - Honda, (1-3)
- Justin Barcia - Yamaha, (4-2)
- Cooper Webb - Yamaha, (7-7)
250MX Results - RedBud
- Aaron Plessinger - Yamaha, (1-1)
- Alex Martin - KTM, (4-3)
- Dylan Ferrandis - Yamaha, (3-4)
- Justin Cooper - Yamaha, (8-7)
- Colt Nichols - Yamaha, (7-17)
450MX Standings - After Round 7 of 12
- Marvin Musquin, 304 points
- Eli Tomac, 301
- Justin Barcia, 264
250MX Standings - After Round 7 of 12
- Aaron Plessinger, 283 points
- Alex Martin, 248
- Justin Cooper, 201
