JUSTIN BARCIA PRESSES ON TO SEVENTH OVERALL IN THE SANDS OF SOUTHWICK.
CONSISTENT OUTING FROM PIERCE BROWN AND RYDER DIFRANCESCO IN 250MX CLASS.
A determined seventh-place finish at Southwick’s fifth round of the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship was impressive from an injured Justin Barcia in 450MX, as Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing teammates Pierce Brown and Ryder DiFrancesco also pushed hard throughout both 250MX motos.
Barcia qualified seventh before delivering a convincing P6 result in Moto 1, but was forced to recover from a fall at the beginning of race two. He battled back to 11th by race’s end, which sealed him seventh overall in the ever-challenging Southwick sand, and is currently ranked eighth in the point standings.
After continuing to experience trouble with a pair of knee injuries that have largely affected his outdoor campaign, Bam Bam has opted to sit out the next block of races – aiming to return for his home race at Unadilla in August – in order to allow his injuries to recover properly. Barcia is confident that when he returns onboard the GASGAS MC 450F Factory Edition, he will be even more competitive into the final stages of the series.
Justin Barcia:„Today was an eventful day, a lot of stuff going on! I qualified P7, which was pretty good, and the motos were decent for where we’re at. I was sixth in Moto 1 and then had a first turn crash in the second moto, but made a hard charge to 11th. Unfortunately, I’ve been dealing with some knee injuries since about the week before Salt Lake City, and I’ve been pushing through it. One knee has a torn/sprained MCL, and my other knee had bursitis, with a little bit of a tear in the meniscus – not too bad, nothing that requires surgery. Because of the swelling, two of my tendons finally let go at High Point, but the good thing is that technically they will just scar up and be fine. I haven’t been riding during the week at all, just been trying to race on the weekends for my fans and the crew, but it’s got to the point now that we have a really good bike, my riding is really good, and these knees are holding us back. We want to be better than fifth-to-eighth, so we are going to take some time off. I will still be able to train quite a bit, do PT on the knees, and see what we can do to get better. All in all, they just need some time to heal up, so the goal right now, I would say, is to come back for Unadilla. I won’t miss too many races if everything works out, which I believe it will, and then we’ll come back swinging!“
In 250MX, Brown qualified 10th and then raced his way forward to eighth in the first moto despite not being completely comfortable. The Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing Team made improvements to his bike settings for the unique conditions ahead of Moto 2, where he had to fight from 40th to 12th following an early crash. That landed him P9 overall, sitting seventh in the title race.
Pierce Brown:„In the first moto I struggled, but we made some changes for Moto 2, and I felt a lot better. Unfortunately, I fell on the first lap and had to come back from 40th to 12th, so my riding was there, but obviously it didn’t show on paper. We don’t get sand like this in California, so it is hard to prep properly for this race – we’ll move onto RedBud and keep charging.“
A consistent showing from Ryder D saw him go 10-11 for 11th overall this weekend, continuing to move forward even if a late mistake bumped him down the order on the final lap of the second race. He sits 12th in points on his GASGAS MC 250F Factory Edition with six rounds left to run in the 2024 season.
Ryder DiFrancesco:„Southwick was okay. It was an improvement from last year, I got a little bit better in the sand, but a mistake on the last lap cost me a couple of spots overall. It was a step in the right direction, we had two solid motos, and I’m ready for RedBud.“
Next Race: July 6 – RedBud, Michigan
Results 450MX Class – Southwick National
1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda
2. Chase Sexton (USA), KTM
3. Hunter Lawrence (AUS), Honda
6. Aaron Plessinger (USA), KTM
7. Justin Barcia (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing
11. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna
14. Christian Craig (USA), Husqvarna
Standings 450MX Class 2024 after 5 of 11 rounds
1. Hunter Lawrence, 213 points
2. Jett Lawrence, 210
3. Chase Sexton, 210
5. Aaron Plessinger, 162
8. Justin Barcia, 148
9. Malcolm Stewart, 133
11. Christian Craig, 83
Results 250MX Class – Southwick National
1. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha
2. Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM
3. Jo Shimoda (JPN), Honda
9. Pierce Brown (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing
10. Casey Cochran (USA), Husqvarna
11. Ryder DiFrancesco (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing
24. Julien Beaumer (USA), KTM
Standings 250MX Class 2024 after 5 of 11 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 238 points
2. Chance Hymas, 196
3. Tom Vialle, 193
7. Pierce Brown, 133
11. Julien Beaumer, 107
12. Ryder DiFrancesco, 96
13. Casey Cochran, 74
Text/Bild: GasGas