GEICO Honda's Barcia Finishes Second, Extends Lites Points Lead
March 14, 2011, 10:15am
INDIANAPOLIS -- GEICO Honda Supercross Lites East rider Justin Barcia raced to his fourth podium finish in four races Saturday night at the Monster Energy AMA Supercross race at Lucas Oil Stadium.
"I'm feeling really good," Barcia said. "I've been having a great season so far, I've been consistent and that's the biggest key for me. I was going for the win tonight and I tried as hard as I could but I just couldn't get it."
Barcia started the main event in third, but moved up to second after Blake Baggett fell while leading. Barcia moved his way through lapped traffic to press eventual winner Brian Sipes for the lead until practically the final turn of the race.
The current East Coast Lites point leader was able to extend his points thanks to Baggett's bobble. Both riders have finished on the podium at every event they have competed in this season, but Barcia has finished no worse than second this season despite racing with a brace on his wrist, which he broke in Atlanta.
"We're definitely going for the championship," Barcia said. "The track was great tonight and I rode smart so I'm happy with our finish. I just have to keep it up and hopefully it'll all work itself out and we'll end up on top.
"The brace makes it kind of tough but I have to wear it and it's helping it heal," Barcia said. "I can't wait for it to heal so I can really ride the best race I can for my GEICO team."
Fan favorite Kevin Windham rode his GEICO Honda to a seventh place finish during the Supercross main event. The veteran rode a tough race and worked his way up from as far back at 10th.
"Tonight was tough," Windham said. "I was riding hard and really hoping to crack the top five but I wasn't able to catch the guys up front."
Windham finished second in his heat race and was hoping to build on that success during the evening's main event but unfortunately it wasn't in the cards for him.
"I rode well during the heat race and was hoping to capitalize on that in the main event," Windham said, "but my start wasn't as great as I was hoping for and I had to battle the whole time."
Windham's GEICO Honda teammate in the Lites, Blake Wharton, took the long way to qualify for the main event.
His bike suffered mechanical issues during his first qualifying issue and he was forced to compete in the Last Chance Qualifier. By winning the LCQ and he was able to sneak into the night's main event.
"It's definitely not the place you want to be but I made it through," Wharton said.
The Texas native battled his way up from as far back at 12th in the main to finish seventh.
"I lined up on the outside in the main and got a bit of a bad start," Wharton said. "I was back pretty far in the beginning but I caught up pretty good and it felt like I rode well. I know a podium finish is in the near future for me, I just need to work a little harder and it'll happen."
The next stop for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series will be March 19 at Everbank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
"I'm feeling really good," Barcia said. "I've been having a great season so far, I've been consistent and that's the biggest key for me. I was going for the win tonight and I tried as hard as I could but I just couldn't get it."
Barcia started the main event in third, but moved up to second after Blake Baggett fell while leading. Barcia moved his way through lapped traffic to press eventual winner Brian Sipes for the lead until practically the final turn of the race.
The current East Coast Lites point leader was able to extend his points thanks to Baggett's bobble. Both riders have finished on the podium at every event they have competed in this season, but Barcia has finished no worse than second this season despite racing with a brace on his wrist, which he broke in Atlanta.
"We're definitely going for the championship," Barcia said. "The track was great tonight and I rode smart so I'm happy with our finish. I just have to keep it up and hopefully it'll all work itself out and we'll end up on top.
"The brace makes it kind of tough but I have to wear it and it's helping it heal," Barcia said. "I can't wait for it to heal so I can really ride the best race I can for my GEICO team."
Fan favorite Kevin Windham rode his GEICO Honda to a seventh place finish during the Supercross main event. The veteran rode a tough race and worked his way up from as far back at 10th.
"Tonight was tough," Windham said. "I was riding hard and really hoping to crack the top five but I wasn't able to catch the guys up front."
Windham finished second in his heat race and was hoping to build on that success during the evening's main event but unfortunately it wasn't in the cards for him.
"I rode well during the heat race and was hoping to capitalize on that in the main event," Windham said, "but my start wasn't as great as I was hoping for and I had to battle the whole time."
Windham's GEICO Honda teammate in the Lites, Blake Wharton, took the long way to qualify for the main event.
His bike suffered mechanical issues during his first qualifying issue and he was forced to compete in the Last Chance Qualifier. By winning the LCQ and he was able to sneak into the night's main event.
"It's definitely not the place you want to be but I made it through," Wharton said.
The Texas native battled his way up from as far back at 12th in the main to finish seventh.
"I lined up on the outside in the main and got a bit of a bad start," Wharton said. "I was back pretty far in the beginning but I caught up pretty good and it felt like I rode well. I know a podium finish is in the near future for me, I just need to work a little harder and it'll happen."
The next stop for the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series will be March 19 at Everbank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
