450 Class
Barcia had a strong showing all day, finishing fourth overall in timed qualifying practice and battling his way to a second-place finish in his heat race. In the main event, Barcia didn’t get the greatest jump off the line but was able to slip to the inside of the first turn and come out in the top five. By the conclusion of the opening lap, Barcia had moved into third. At one point in the 20-lap race he was briefly passed, but countered back to reclaim third position.
“It was a good night of racing. Obviously I always want to win but third is great for me, especially since I haven’t had the best results so far,” explained Barcia. “Mentally this season has been a challenge so it feels really awesome to be back up on the podium. I wish I rode in the main how I did in the heat race. I felt really solid and think I could have caught James [Stewart] if there were a few more laps, but in the main I got pretty tight towards the end and was just trying not to make any mistakes. I am really looking forward to next weekend. I love Atlanta. It’s kind of like a home race for me, so I have a lot of friends and family coming, which is exciting. Hopefully I can get on the podium again.”
Team Manager Dan Betley said, “Tonight was a good night for the team. Justin rode strong all day and was up front and competitive in the main event, which is where he belongs. I think this gives us a lot of momentum heading into next week, so hopefully we can build off it and get another podium.”
After hurting his hand two weeks ago in Anaheim, it was uncertain if Muscle Milk-backed GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn would even be able to compete this weekend. The Texas native proved otherwise by putting in an impressive effort, duplicating his best finish of the season in Oakland with another eighth-place.
“It’s been two weeks off the bike for me, which is a long time in the middle of a season,” said Hahn. “I took last week off because my hand just wasn’t ready and I wasn’t even sure if I could ride tonight. Two weeks without riding a dirt bike and then come in here and have the same finish I had in Oakland was pretty good considering the cards I’ve been dealt.”
Teammate Eli Tomac missed transferring to the main event by one position in his heat race, forcing him to the semi-qualifying round. Following a fifth in the semi, he moved to the main event where he finished 11th.
This weekend also showcased round one of the Eastern Regional 250 Supercross class with Muscle Milk sponsored-GEICO Honda’s Blake Wharton, Justin Bogle and Matt Bisceglia taking the stage.
It was a tough start to the night for Bogle, who was forced to transfer into the main event via the Last Chance Qualifier. In the main, he put together a noteworthy ride to finish fifth. “My heat race was horrible, probably one of the worst races I have ever had,” said Bogle.”I just rode so much better in the LCQ, got that win, and that lifted me up mentally. I ended up kind of having another bad start in the main, but I knew the lines I wanted to ride and I ended up in the top five, which was my goal at the start of the race.”
Wharton struggled in the main event, going down in the slippery first turn and again in a corner later in the race. He was able to remount his CRF250R and finish seventh. Bisceglia looked strong throughout practice but like his teammates, he too had some troubles during the evening. Despite going down in his heat race, Bisceglia was able to recover and still score a transfer spot into the main event. Unfortunately he lost his rear brake on the opening lap and had to ride the entire main event without it.
The Focus: Yoshimura RS-9 Exhaust System
As a sponsor and supplier of cutting-edge four-stroke exhaust systems to the Honda racing team, Yoshimura® spends countless hours each year developing race bike exhaust systems and building products for consumers. As the largest motorcycle-aftermarket exhaust manufacturer in the world, the company has been building four-stroke exhaust systems since 1954. Since moving to the dual-exhaust system on the 2013 CRF450R, Team Honda Muscle Milk has used the Yosh RS-9 and switches between the Carbon Muffler for Supercross and the Titanium Muffler for Motocross. The uniquely sculpted Carbon Fiber end-caps feature a Tunable Insert System to fine-tune power delivery to rider preferences.
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Source: 3D CarShows (Ferreira, 2/17)
