Barcia (Wrist) Out, Weimer to Fill In
We heard a few days ago that JGR Suzuki’s Justin Barcia had been off the bike due to a wrist injury. Some said it was serious, others close to the team said he just needed time off the bike and no surgery and that he would try to race this weekend in Anaheim.
Well, now a press release has dropped—first reported by VitalMX.com—saying that Barcia is missing “rounds” of supercross with the injury. Here's the PR from Vital:
Justin Barcia will miss the opening rounds of the Monster Energy Supercross series due to a wrist injury. Justin had high expectations for the 2017 Supercross season on the JGRMX Suzuki, and is extremely disappointed to miss the start of the series. The injury occurred several weeks ago when a chain failure in the whoops sent Justin over the bars. Justin consulted with his surgeon in Florida, who ordered multiple radiological studies which revealed a fracture of his lunate bone, as well as ligament damage. While it was determined that surgery would not be necessary, the injury requires time off the bike to allow for proper healing. Justin said, “I am so disappointed to have this wrist injury, especially now, but I’m glad that surgery is not necessary”. Justin will maintain a rigorous off-bike training protocol to allow him to join the series as soon as he is cleared by his team of doctors. Justin is extremely anxious to compete on the JGRMX Suzuki, but he will have to wait for the appropriate time to make his 2017 debut. Justin will be at Anaheim this weekend for press events and to support JGRMX Suzuki as they kick off the start of another exciting season. He wishes to thank his team, sponsors and all his fans for their support through this time.
It now appears that JGR Suzuki will need to go the fill-in route yet again. The original plan was to use one of the team's 250SX riders to fill in if one of the 450 riders was hurt. But with Matt Bisceglia getting injured and Phil Nicoletti moving to the 250SX West Region to cover his spot, the team has gone to Jake Weimer to ride Barcia's bike for what we hear is at least four rounds. Weimer had no ride lined up this year but his old team—RCH Suzuki—has been letting him ride a bike all off-season and he’s been trying to stay sharp for an opportunity just like this.
As far as Barcia, it’s the third-straight year with a supercross injury early in the season. We’ll see if some rest helps the wrist when he comes back in a month.
