Justin Barcia captured his second win of the season after two inspiring rides in the 250 class at the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Washougal MX Park today. Barcia, on the GEICO Honda, reeled in and passed fast starter Marvin Musquin to take the win in the first moto, and he surrendered the lead to Blake Baggett, who had finished sixth in the first moto and was not in contention for the overall, in the second moto before wrapping things up with a 1-2.
Justin Barcia
Musquin, on the Red Bull KTM, shot into the lead in the first moto and stayed there for many laps until giving way to Barcia and then was swallowed up by an intense four-way battle for second through fifth, involving Barcia’s teammate Eli Tomac, his own teammate, Ken Roczen and Baggett.
Barcia managed to stay ahead of the scrap and held on for the win, while Tomac found a line around Musquin for second.
Musquin held on for third, followed by Roczen and GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn.
Baggett, who seemed to be on the verge of another come-from-behind charge, ended up falling three times in the moto and wound up sixth.
“I guess I was trying to go harder than I could,” Baggett said. “I just made mistakes and went back.”
Baggett, however, made up for it in the second moto. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider caught and passed early leader Barcia for the win, but it wasn’t enough to give him the overall victory. It was, however, good enough to get him on the podium in third and maintain his points lead, though it shrank by seven to Barcia.
Blake Baggett
“I had a great holeshot, rode my own race, but he [Baggett] got me,” Barcia said. “I tried to get him back but the front end washed out.”
Tomac finished in between Barcia and Baggett, going 2-3 on the day. He was in the mix all day, saying he rode well but it wasn’t good enough to be number one.
Marvin Musquin rode a lot better than his fourth overall suggests. He led much of the first moto and was up front in the second moto as well, but he eventually lost the fight to some of the top regulars. After leading for quite some time in the first moto, he slipped back to third and then finished fourth in the second moto.
Musquin’s teammate Ken Roczen finished fifth overall. The former World Champion struggled with his starts and just couldn’t latch on to the front runners. He ended up going 4-7.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Blake Wharton finished sixth overall with a 7-6, while GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle showed plenty of speed in his second race back following a knee injury. He finished a strong ninth in the first moto and ran second for a while in the second moto before dropping back to fifth.
Honda Muscle Milk’s Wil Hahn (5-10), Star Vali Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes (8-8), and Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Jason Anderson (10-9) rounded out the top 10 overall.
250 RESULTS
1. Justin Barcia (Hon) 1-2
2. Eli Tomac (Hon) 2-3
3. Blake Baggett (Kaw) 6-1
4. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 3-4
5. Ken Roczen (KTM) 4-7
6. Blake Wharton (Suz) 7-6
7. Justin Bogle (Hon) 9-5
8. William Hahn (Hon) 5-10
9. Ryan Sipes (Yam) 8-8
10. Jason Anderson (Suz) 10-9
