Well, here it went again. Justin Barcia’s 2015 season was a washout until a sudden mid-season surge. He won at Budds Creek, he won at RedBud, he nearly won at Washougal. He won a moto for Team USA at the Motocross of Nations—the first American moto winner at the event since 2011. But then an injury ended his 2016 Monster Energy Supercross season basically before it started, and when he returned, he had morphed back into the early-2015 Justin Barcia. It’s been a struggle, but there’s always the hope that things can turn, perhaps even suddenly with a trip to the center of the podium, because that’s what the 2015 Justin Barcia eventually did.
It would have been nice for Barcia to at least be consistent early this season to stay reasonably close in points—like the 10-6 he scored at Hangtown. But some bike failures ruined that, including a 37th at Glen Helen on a day when the bike kept cutting out. Or an engine failure at Muddy Creek, which led to a 35th.
As for the riding, it’s certainly not as good as Barcia wants it, but it does seem to be getting better. Alas, no podium quite yet, let alone a win, but at least he was much closer at RedBud. A first moto third gave him some time before the TV cameras, but he couldn’t quite catch Broc Tickle for third in moto two, leaving him fourth overall with 3-4 scores. That’s progress, but for a rider of Barcia’s caliber, and salary, fourth isn’t cutting it.
“Almost [a podium] does nothing,” he told me.
Barcia looked a little more aggressive, a little “racier” a week ago at Muddy Creek, too, but that aggressiveness cost him when he ran into teammate Phil Nicoletti trying to force a pass in moto one. He took them both down. Then Barcia’s engine blew later in the moto. Beyond that, he’s searching the way all riders search at this level—trying to make the bike better. Seriously, you’ll find probably two 450 riders right now who aren’t doing that, and it’s Ken Roczen and Broc Tickle, and that’s because they’re both really happy with their results. This isn’t exclusive or inclusive of any team, either, because last year no one was searching more than Roczen.
“The bike was a little better today,” said Barcia. “We’ve been struggling a little bit, just struggling with some stuff. But I definitely rode good. I feel like I’ve been riding pretty good, today wasn’t totally different from some other days.”
Barcia had that crash and then DNF in the first moto at Muddy Creek in the first moto, and then came from way back to fifth in the second. Could he have been a podium contender in Tennessee the same way he was at RedBud?
“I think so,” he says. “It hasn't just been the bike; it was stuff like me having some issues too, like crashing. Struggling with a lot of stuff. But today was good, but it was also frustrating because I got a bad start [in the second moto]. I just charged and charged and charged. I just couldn’t get Tickle. He rode great. All those guys rode great. Tomac and Roczen, they’re riding really good. There are a lot of guys absent right now but the pack is still damn strong to me. I’m riding the best I can and it’s still hard! People can say whatever they want about a lot of good guys missing, but there’s a lot of good guys racing right now still.”
It’s true that the 450 class this season, even littered with injuries, is still stacked with talent in the top ten. But the problem for Barcia is his pay grade only makes sense when he’s winning or getting on the podium, no matter who is out there. So he keeps trying.
“Yeah, today was good. A few of the Yamaha guys were here today. It was good to have them over here, just kind of talking with all of us. Johnny, our suspension guy, had some great ideas for next week to try, and we just keep trying,” he said. “That’s all you can do. I know it’s frustrating for everyone, the team and me, they pay me a lot of money and they sign me to win. We’re not winning. I feel bad about that. I feel like I’m super fit and stuff and I think we’re not as far off as it may seem but I want to win. It sucks not winning.”
In some ways, it’s even more frustrating knowing he and his crew are putting in the work. We’ve come a long way since the 1990s era, where every time a top talent struggled some stories about not putting in the work (or worse) would start to leak out. It’s not like Barcia can just stop partying all week, put down the cheeseburgers and fries and get on a bicycle and pick up his results. He’s not even doing that stuff in the first place! It stings even more when Tickle, who is not making the same type of salary Barcia is, is the one who bumps him from the box.
“Honestly it would be way better if I got paid way less getting the finishes I’m getting,” he said. “People can say whatever they want, but when I get paid as much as I do I know what my job is and that’s to win or be on the podium every weekend. It hasn’t been like that. It’s been a struggle for over a year now just with stupid stuff happening, hurting myself or just little things here and there. So it’s just life. It’s just dirt bikes and we all do our best. It gets better.”
