Justin Barcia fired the first shot of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, taking a thrilling victory aboard the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team YZ450F at Anaheim 1.
It was a perfect night for Barcia, taking both the Heat race win and main event win. His win during the main didn’t come easy either. In addition to the stacked field in the premier class, Mother Nature threw in an extra challenge, dumping more and more water on the track over the course of the 20-minute main. Barcia put his head down though and punched out the laps to take his first 450SX win since Seattle Supercross 2013.
“Anaheim 1 was an awesome day. I had a lot of fun in practice, then going into the heat race it started to sprinkling a little,” said Barcia.
“I didn’t get the best start but made some good passes and got into the lead and won my heat race which was awesome, and it felt really good to get that first one out of the way at the first race. The main event it was really pouring down. It was looking tricky watching the 250 start so I definitely got a little excited and nervous and all those feelings you get at the first race. I got off to a pretty decent start and worked my way up to third by a little over half the race. I played it smart and tried to make no mistakes. One of the guys went down in front of me and then I was able to charge harder and catch the leader, make the pass and ride a smooth race to the win. For me this is incredible, I haven’t won a 450 race in over six years so it’s a pretty awesome feeling. I couldn’t be much happier, I’m really excited to go to Phoenix. I just want to stay, smart, smooth, fast, consistent and focus on the championship plate.”
Adding to an already stellar night for Yamaha as a whole, Barcia’s teammate Aaron Plessinger had an impressive debut. The rookie was able to battle with the best, finishing third in his heat and sixth in the main event.
“Anaheim 1 went pretty well. I got better and better every time I went out on the track,” said Plessinger.
“The heat race went awesome. I started out about fifth or sixth, got past some guys and finished third. I was pretty amped on that and I went into the main event pretty happy with myself. I got a great start and just maintained it. There were sometimes where I felt a little winded, but I couldn’t back down and pushed on to the finish and got sixth. I’d say Anaheim I, my first 450 race, was pretty good in my eyes. We’ll keep making improvements and head into Phoenix hot on the ball.”
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team heads to Glendale, Arizona, next Saturday, January 12, for Round 2 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at State Farm Stadium.
450SX MAIN EVENT:
1. Justin Barcia
2. Ken Roczen
3. Eli Tomac
4. Dean Wilson
5. Cooper Webb
6. Aaron Plessinger
7. Malcolm Stewart
8. Marvin Musquin
9. Chad Reed
10. Cole Seely
11. Justin Brayton
12. Blake Baggett
13. Vince Friese
14. Jason Anderson
15. Justin Hill