Justin Barcia couldn’t quite make it four straight opening round victories last week in Anaheim, but perhaps that’s a good thing. Barcia’s only three wins in the last three years have come from winning the opening round and he's struggled to make it back to that point for the rest of the season. So now that he’s put two third-place finishes together to start 2022, he holds the points lead and perhaps some momentum is building for Barcia to get things rolling beyond that first round. In Oakland, he tailed Aaron Plessinger the entire race and ultimately stayed the course to finish in third place for the second straight week. It also appears he’s figuring out the balance between when to go for it and when to take what’s given. The new points leader spoke with the media in the post-race press conference about his early season success thus far.
Justin, we heard AP [Plessinger] say that he basically changed his suspension setting a lot during the week. For you, you’re on the same platform as last year. Obviously, a familiar bike and all that. Are you comfortable that you are on the same platform as the previous year when the other guys in the group are on the new model? Tell us your thoughts on that. Obviously, two rounds in, two podiums, it’s going well.
Justin Barcia: Yeah, definitely. I’m happy to be on the same platform, only a year on it. So, two years, it’s not a lot of time on a new platform coming from an aluminum frame. So, for me, I’m super comfortable with it. I did make my guys work this week. I wanted something a little different. It was actually pretty easy, honestly. It was just a fork setting, and it was pretty much like Michael’s setting. It worked good. Then today we searched a little bit and in the heat race found it. Super stoked with the bike. The guys are doing a great job. I’m definitely happy to be on the same chassis. Obviously, the new chassis is working. It’s not a bad chassis. AP is up here, so not bad at all. We have two really good bikes right now.
I talked to you in the off-season a little bit about not winning the opener and if you win the second or third round, you’ll feel a little bit better about yourself. Now having the points lead after two rounds and putting two consistent results in, is this pretty much exactly where you wanted to be at this point?
Yeah, I couldn’t ask for much more. I guess I could ask for two wins, but it’s great. I’m super happy to be in this position. The off-season was really good. I feel comfortable on the bike. I’m really comfortable with the team. Two podiums to start off the season is fantastic. Definitely want to keep this ball rolling. This is where I want to be at. Obviously go for wins. Tonight was a great night. I was pushing hard and third was it, so that was awesome. These two guys rode really good. It was a good racetrack. The Dirt Wurx crew did a great job. I think it was way more racy than last weekend. So, that was awesome.
![For the third straight season, Justin Barcia will have the points lead following the second round.]()
For the third straight season, Justin Barcia will have the points lead following the second round. Align Media ![Justin with his wife Amber Rose Barcia.]()
Justin with his wife Amber Rose Barcia. Align Media
Let’s talk about that consistency. Previous years you had a couple races that you started off great, and then there’s always that one race that knocks you off that momentum. What do you feel you have to do differently in these next few rounds? There’s obviously lots of season left. We saw a fall from [Ken] Roczen and [Eli] Tomac starting to climb up, and then Webb starting to fall back. So, what do you feel you have to do differently this year to try to hold onto that points lead longer and hopefully hold onto that until the end of the year?
Absolutely. I think this year for me my mental game is really strong. I think that’s the biggest thing. I really believe in myself, and I believe in the team and the bike and just my whole package. I think I just need to keep doing me, and that’s going out there and racing the track and not letting anything bother me. Just focus on the task at hand. That’s putting laps in and minimizing mistakes and racing. That’s what we’re here for, to race and have fun. I’m having a lot of fun right now. Just stay focused. The mental game is huge. These guys know as well. It’s massive in this sport. Just stay mentally strong throughout the season and focused and go for wins.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO  | 359 |
| 2 |  Jason Anderson | Edgewood, NM | 350 |
| 3 |  Malcolm Stewart | Haines City, FL | 314 |
| 4 |  Marvin Musquin | La Reole, France  | 305 |
| 5 |  Justin Barcia | Monroe, NY | 302 |
Is that focus more just trying to eliminate as many mistakes as possible, or trying to eliminate as many altercations with other riders, whatever it might be? Or is it just you trying to focus on getting consistent lap times throughout all twenty minutes?
Minimizing mistakes for sure, but obviously at this level mistakes are going to happen. We are on the edge for 20 minutes. We’re hammering down, so mistakes are going to happen. But minimizing mistakes is definitely the biggest thing. You don’t want to get into altercations, but things happen, like we saw in the first race. Me and Jason [Anderson] are sitting next to each other right now. Obviously, things happen. We just moved past it and tonight was a perfect example that we all have a lot of respect for each other and we’re just going to go out there and race the track and race each other and see what it brings.
Watch the full post-race 450SX press conference below:
