Justin Barcia
Justin ‘Wild Child’ Barcia is a native of New York where he grew up riding the
motocross circuit. He relocated to Georgia to train at the Millsaps Training
Facility, and turned pro during the 2009 season. Barcia made an impressive debut
in the AMA 250 Motocross Championship with second-place finishes at both
Hangtown and Thunder Valley. Finishing fifth overall in the series, Barcia
nabbed eight podiums and won the first moto at Southwick in Massachusetts.
The young riding phenom then made his AMA Supercross debut in 2010 riding
the Lites East Coast series aboard the Geico Powersports Honda team. He
instantly became a force to be reckoned with, posting a total of five podium
finishes on his way to a runner-up finish in the 2010 AMA Supercross Lites East
division.
The youth cemented his rising star status with several
noteworthy performances in the 2010 outdoor season, taking second overall at
Budds Creek, Unadilla and Southwick. He also landed race wins at High Point and
Southwick, allowing him to finish fifth overall in the series. 2011 would become
Barcia’s standout year, however, as the 19-year-old achieved podium finishes at
every round in the Supercross Lites East division to claim the championship.
While
Barcia had a rough start to his outdoor season, he capitalized on the
opportunity to fill-in for injured Trey Canard in the premier class during the
last four rounds. Competing with the likes of Chad Reed, Ryan Villopoto and Ryan
Dungey, Barcia took five podium finishes, including a win at
Southwick.
Barcia continued with Geico Honda through the 2012 Supercross
Lites and 250 Motocross seasons. He decimated the competition in the Lites East
division, winning six out of nine contests, with his worst showing coming in New
Orleans when he finished in fourth. To top things off, he also earned the
top-step in the Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout during the final round of SX
action in Las Vegas. Two days after notching his second consecutive SX Lites
East Championship title it was announced that he would make the move to the 450
ranks for 2013, joining Team Honda Muscle Milk.
He still had a full
24-moto MX season to contest aboard his 250 though, and he fought hard through
every round. With five moto wins and a rash of podium finishes, Barcia was in
the running for the title until the final round at Lake Elsinore. In the end he
fell short by 20 points behind Blake Baggett and finished the season second
overall.
Prior to the end of MX 2012, it was announced that Barcia would
join Baggett and Dungey on Team USA for the 23rd Motocross of Nations
Championship. Competing in the open class aboard a 450, he helped keep Team USA
within the top-three teams overall by earning the best finishing position for an
American rider in Race 3, the MX1/Open contest, where he placed
third.
Busy as ever, Barica then headed to the 2012 Monster Energy Cup
for his official debut with Team Honda Muscle Milk in the 450 class. He scored
second behind Villopoto in the first event, earned the top-spot in the second
race and took second in the final event. His 2-1-2 finish was enough to secure
him the top-step overall and the $100,000 dollar prize that went along with
it.
For 2013 Barcia will look to expand on his already impressive resume
by pushing against the likes of Villopoto, Dungey, James Stewart and others in
the 450 SX/450 MX seasons.
Career Results:
2012: 1st
(ESX), 2nd (250MX), 3rd (MXoN Team USA), 1st (Monster Energy
Cup)
2011: 1st (ESX), 12th (250 MX)
2010: 2nd (ESX), 5th (250 MX)
2009: 5th (250 MX)