After consulting with his doctor and the team, Monster Energy Factory Yamaha’s Justin Barcia has elected to sit out the final three rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross so he can heal from injuries and be 100 percent for the opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Hangtown on May 18.

“At this point it seems that the best thing to do is to let my body recover,” Barcia said in a team statement. “I’m just going to keep on training, skip the last few supercross races and let my body heal up. Thinking about that now, I probably should have done that a few weeks ago because I was injured already but I really wanted to be at the supercross race with my team and fans, and put on a good showing. For right now, I’m going to regroup and be ready for the first outdoor.”

After winning the 2019 season opener in Anaheim, Barcia sustained a bruised tailbone in a crash at round three. Although the injury did not cause Barcia to miss time, he failed to finish inside the top five over the course of the next five rounds.

Prior to Atlanta Supercross, Barcia sustained a concussion and a shoulder injury in a practice crash and missed the following two rounds. He returned for Indianapolis and earned his second top five of the season, but the last few rounds have been tough, as Barcia crashed in Seattle and Houston and finished 17-17. Last weekend in Nashville, Barcia hit a Tuff Blox in the main event and did not finish the main.

“Monster Energy Supercross is a demanding series, racing every weekend. Justin has been battling injuries from the midpoint of the season and needs the time to recover and heal up,” said team manager Jim Perry in a statement. “Sitting out the final three events is a hard call, however, getting back to 100 percent, the place he started the season is the number-one goal. It will be a bummer not seeing the #51 YZ450F line up at the gate this weekend, but we will continue moving forward supporting Josh Grant for the final three events.”

The team is also without Aaron Plessinger, who suffered a broken heel in Daytona. Josh Grant will continue to fill-in for Plessinger and race the remaining three rounds for the team.