Justin Barcia Scores A Top-Five Finish At Pro Motocross Round 9

The Monster Energy/Yamaha Factory Racing Team battled through a challenging day in Washougal, Washington for Round 9 of the 2018 AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Washougal MX Park. Justin Barcia overcame tough starts to score fourth overall, while his teammate, Cooper Webb, earned a season-best sixth overall in the 450MX class.



In the 250MX class, Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star/Yamaha Racing's Aaron Plessinger claimed his third-consecutive overall victory aboard the YZ250F to further extend his championship lead to 59 points with three rounds remaining in the series.

450MX

In Moto 1, Barcia got off to a decent start but he went down on the opening lap, forcing him to begin the race outside the top 20. After six laps, Barcia had climbed his way inside the top ten and he continued to battle for a top-five spot. With two laps to go, Barcia made a sweeping move around the outside to command fifth place, where he finished strong in Moto 1.

Webb, who qualified a season-best fourth overall, started just outside the top-ten on the opening lap of Moto 1. He steadily climbed his way into the top-ten, battling just behind his teammate, Barcia. After a hard-charge, Webb was ultimately able to work his way up to eighth.

In Moto 2, Barcia got off to a top-ten start and charged his way up to fourth by lap three. After swapping the third-place position back-and-forth, Barcia settled into fourth for the remainder of the race.

Meanwhile, Webb had a bad start and rounded the opening lap well outside the top 20. He quickly began fighting his way through the pack, reaching a top-ten position by the halfway point. From there, he continued to battle toward a top-five position where he ultimately finished seventh in the moto and a season-best sixth overall.

 Jim Perry, Team Manager

 "Today Justin Barcia put in a solid performance to finish in fourth, but it was a disappointing day after he spent the week in California. We thought we made some headway and we were looking forward to a solid weekend finishing on the podium but that did not happen with a crash and a poor start. Cooper Webb continues to make progress, he finished solidly in the top six overall and he's getting better each week. Progress is being made but there's still room for improvement. Both guys will use this weekend off and head into Unadilla for the final three events of the season."

 Justin Barcia, 450MX #51 (Moto 1 = 5th / Moto 2 = 4th / Overall = 4th)

"Washougal for me definitely didn't go as planned. All-in-all on the day, I'm obviously not pleased with not being on the podium because that's where I know I belong but I've just been working really hard to get more comfortable on the bike and all the little things I know I need to work on with my riding. I definitely miss being on the podium, it's frustrating when you're not there because I've been up there quite a bit this year. But I'm riding really well, I just need to put everything together. I'm staying positive for sure, I've got a week off so I need to train hard, work on the things I need to work on and show up at Unadilla and get back on that podium."

Cooper Webb, 450MX #2 (Moto 1 = 8th / Moto 2 = 7th / Overall = 6th)



"Washougal was good to me, I had my best race so far. We tested some suspension this past week and it seemed to be in the right direction. I was able to qualify fourth, which is the best I've qualified all year. First moto, I didn't get a very good start and I had to make a lot of passes on a track that was really hard to pass on and I came back to eighth. In the second moto, I was really far back on the start and I just put my head down and kept charging the whole moto and almost had sixth on the last lap - I was going for the pass and I actually crashed, but I still managed seventh in the second moto. The second moto was by far the best I've ridden so far so I was happy with that. I just need to work on my starts and I think I'll have a top-five for Unadilla, that's the goal."

In addition to being honored as the official Grand Marshal of the Washougal National, Yamaha bLU cRU rider Ryan Villopoto rode to victory in the 125 All Star race in front of his hometown crowd aboard the iconic YZ125.

450MX Results - Washougal

1. Eli Tomac, Kawasaki, (1-1)
   
2. Ken Roczen - Honda, (3-2)
   
3. Marvin Musquin, KTM, (2-3)
   
4. Justin Barcia - Yamaha, (5-4)
   
5. Cooper Webb - Yamaha, (8-7)
   

1. Aaron Plessinger - Yamaha, (4-3)
   
2. Shane McElrath - KTM, (9-1)
   
3. Joey Savatgy - KAW, (1-9)
   
4. Dylan Ferrandis - Yamaha, (11-2)
   
5. Justin Cooper - Yamaha, (6-8)
   
6. Colt Nichols - Yamaha, (15-5)
   

1. Eli Tomac, 401 points
   
2. Marvin Musquin, 386
   
3. Ken Roczen, 330
   
4. Justin Barcia, 330
   

1. Aaron Plessinger, 371 points
   
2. Alex Martin, 312
   
3. Justin Cooper, 267