A win seemed en route for Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas rider Justin Barcia in any condition, but rain and mud only helps the man who was born in New Jersey and grew up riding in New York. As such, he pulled through the slop to collect his first supercross victory since the 2021 Monster Energy AMA Supercross opener in Houston, Texas.
Barcia’s having a lot of fun lately, and it showed in another loose post-race press conference.
What was it like, man? You looked like you actually had fun.
Justin Barcia: It was actually enjoyable. Kenny was setting a pace and jumping stuff I wouldn’t jump! I didn’t do it all day and I didn’t want to do it in the mud! Whoa, he set a pace and I had to run with it, and I saw an opportunity and I went for it. Because to pass you kind of had to run it in and block the guy, and then go, and that’s kinda what I did…
Did you do that to anybody?
Barcia: Yeah! [Laughs] I had to!
Ken Roczen: I thought you were sober, man?
Barcia: But I was clean though?!
Roczen: I thought you were clean! [Laughs]
Barcia: It was clean! Well, it wasn’t clean, but it was clean! [Laughs] It was a fun race. My bike treated me well and the clutch held up. Once I had a big lead, they told me to chill on the clutch, because I like to beat up the clutch. That’s when I started riding smoother and better. Yeah, it was blur a bit, honestly. The last lap, that was a vibe. Just being born around here, it’s special.
You’ve won a bunch of these now, I was going to ask, how is this one just with the crowd and the circumstances?
It felt really cool, for sure. It’s up there for sure. [The] 250 Championships felt good but this felt really good for sure This year has been cool. Just having fun and building, racing guys I’ve raced my whole career and vibing with each other. Just having so much fun. A good feel.
Justin congrats on the win. To see you start celebrating with the fans with a lap to go, taking your hands off the bars, that took a pair.
That was just stupid! [Laughs] I had a good lead, and I was just cruising around, and the mud was so sticky the bike would do its own thing. I could just kind of ghost ride the whip! I was just celebrating with the fans a little bit and it was special, that last lap.
The delay, let’s talk about that. What did you do during the delay. Did you guys bro down?
Ken Roczen: Yeah, I broed down a bit with Chase [Sexton] and Colt [Nichols] and my teammates. We were about to pop some vodka Red Bulls, but we decided to lay off a little bit, just in case we decided to go racing! [Laughs] Good thing we did.
Justin Barcia: I was in the motorhome, kid went to sleep, my brother was here, my wife. I called my trainer and said, “Yo, what should I eat?” And he said just eat whatever you want. So I just ate, ate, ate, drank some drinks, had a good time. I was obviously juiced up for this. My old mechanic Sean used to tell me I’m a duck, I love water. Snikey [old mechanic] would always say “Mud’s your bud.” I was back to the New York roots. Everyone was like, they’re gonna cancel, they gotta keep this going! And I’m like, whatever, I’m gonna keep eating and get ready to race.
Eli Tomac: I ate a little bit. Yeah, just tried to chit chat and stay awake. You’re just wondering what’s gonna happen.
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"Tonight was special, to have my wife, my son, it doesn’t really get much better than that. That last lap was unique. Just a lot of emotions going on. I’ve really worked hard on myself this year to be an all-around better racer." - Justin Barcia Align Media ![Barcia takes the checkered flag.]()
Barcia takes the checkered flag. Align Media ![450SX main event career win #6: ✅]()
450SX main event career win #6: ✅ Align Media ![Give us your best caption for this in the comments section...]()
Give us your best caption for this in the comments section... Align Media
Eli did you say you had to drink a cup of coffee?
Eli: I did.
Barcia: Me too. We were coffee, espressos, it was like back in the Paris days.
Eli: That’s right!
Barcia: We were having a good time.
Can you talk about the team dynamic that has developed over there with GasGas?
Yeah. Troy Lee is just a rad guy, he loves the sport. I remember when I won a 450 main for his team, he said that made his life. Troy Lee? I mean, that guy has had some moments in his life. So that was special. Good guy, loves the sport. GasGas came on board and they’re putting everything in it. I was the guy to come on board and do this, and I couldn’t be more proud. Honestly, it’s been a match made in heaven. Enjoyable. Really fun. Obviously motor sports is very difficult. There’s hard times, but everyone works together. We just have a good crew and a solid team right now. We love racing dirt bikes. We’ve got Austria behind us, and they’re doing a great job. I couldn’t ask for more.
| Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Justin Barcia | 18 Laps | 58.913 | Monroe, NY  | GasGas MC 450F | |
| 2 |  Eli Tomac | +14.742 | 59.560 | Cortez, CO | Yamaha YZ450F | |
| 3 |  Ken Roczen | +25.396 | 58.405 | Mattstedt, Germany  | Suzuki RM-Z450 | |
| 4 |  Chase Sexton | +42.642 | 1:02.311 | La Moille, IL | Honda CRF450R | |
| 5 |  Cooper Webb | 17 Laps | 1:03.993 | Newport, NC | KTM 450 SX-F |
This is your sixth career 450 win. You had two early wins as a rookie, the three openers and now this. Can you rank them in your head?
Tonight was special, to have my wife, my son, it doesn’t really get much better than that. That last lap was unique. Just a lot of emotions going on. I’ve really worked hard on myself this year to be an all-around better racer. I’ve been a little too wild at times. Not partying or stuff like that, but I ride with a lot of heart and sometimes stuff doesn’t go my way. I want to set an example for my son, even though he’s a little too young to remember, but yeah, this one is way up there. Maybe the best one. But hopefully there’s a lot more to come.
Do you have any thoughts on Max Anstie’s 250 win?
Yeah, absolutely epic. Yarrive [Konsky, Fire Power Parts Honda team owner] puts a lot into the team and I know he’s not here very often, but I saw him earlier, so I know he was here today. Really special, we’ve all been there. For Max, he seems like a really nice kid, a hard racer and for him to kind of go from Europe and come back here, give it his all and get the win, that’s so cool. He’s British and you know I like the British people, my wife is British. [Laughs] Congrats to Max. I don’t know if his family is here but I’m sure he can’t wait to get home and see them and celebrate this round.
