For round seven of the AMA Pro Motocross Championships, the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/ Honda team rolled into Millville, Minn., with four riders; Justin Barcia, Brett Metcalfe, Blake Wharton and local favorite Alex Martin, whose family just happens to own the Spring Creek MX Park that the team raced on last weekend.
But it was Justin Barcia who turned the most heads, yet again. The rookie ran up front in both motos, ending up third in moto one after fighting it out with
teammate Brett Metcalfe for the spot. In the second moto, Barcia once again battled hard before the leader and second-place finisher found their way by, and he settled in for another third place. He credits some of the recent improvement in his racing to his team testing with him after the last round in Michigan.
“We did a little bit of testing after RedBud, at RedBud, and we found a few things with the motor and things like that which help me a little better and deliver the power a little better,” Barcia said. “The team has been working really hard, and it all helps a lot.”
His teammate Metcalfe duked it out with Barcia in moto one, but finished fourth. In the second moto, he was never that close to the top three, but finished with a
consistent 4-4 on the day.
“My weekend went good,” Metcalfe said. “I got good starts in both motos, and I came into the races feeling pretty confident and comfortable. I definitely wanted to get a top-three finish and run up front. I fell short of that by one spot in each moto, but I felt like I rode pretty good. Everything went well, and a 4-4 is solid for the championship. I couldn’t complain too much. Each moto, we had some good racing going on, and Justin and I had a great battle in the first one. It was good racing.”
Filling in for the injured Trey Canard, Alex Martin had his best national performance ever. In the first moto, he turned a
good start into a strong eighth-place finish. In the second moto, Martin was still a little fatigued, but managed a 12th-place finish for 11th overall.
But it was Justin Barcia who turned the most heads, yet again. The rookie ran up front in both motos, ending up third in moto one after fighting it out with
teammate Brett Metcalfe for the spot. In the second moto, Barcia once again battled hard before the leader and second-place finisher found their way by, and he settled in for another third place. He credits some of the recent improvement in his racing to his team testing with him after the last round in Michigan.“We did a little bit of testing after RedBud, at RedBud, and we found a few things with the motor and things like that which help me a little better and deliver the power a little better,” Barcia said. “The team has been working really hard, and it all helps a lot.”
His teammate Metcalfe duked it out with Barcia in moto one, but finished fourth. In the second moto, he was never that close to the top three, but finished with a
consistent 4-4 on the day.“My weekend went good,” Metcalfe said. “I got good starts in both motos, and I came into the races feeling pretty confident and comfortable. I definitely wanted to get a top-three finish and run up front. I fell short of that by one spot in each moto, but I felt like I rode pretty good. Everything went well, and a 4-4 is solid for the championship. I couldn’t complain too much. Each moto, we had some good racing going on, and Justin and I had a great battle in the first one. It was good racing.”
Filling in for the injured Trey Canard, Alex Martin had his best national performance ever. In the first moto, he turned a
good start into a strong eighth-place finish. In the second moto, Martin was still a little fatigued, but managed a 12th-place finish for 11th overall.“About 20-25 minutes into the first moto, my arms started to get kind of tight,” Martin said. “That bike’s got so much damned power that I was sliding back on the seat a lot and kept having to pull myself forward. I think that was a contributing factor.”
Blake Wharton had a tough weekend, with a fluke electrical problem costing him on the line in moto one. In the second moto, though, he was up front until a fall on the second lap saw him
come through from dead last to 19th.
“In the second moto, I got a pretty good start, and I was fourth, and on the second lap I crashed going down a downhill,” Wharton said. “I took a line I shouldn’t have taken, and I thought maybe I would’ve known about that had I raced the first moto. I wasn’t that familiar with the track. So then I had to play catch-up, and I caught up to like 19th from dead last. I got some points, but it was a disappointing weekend for me.”
Blake Wharton had a tough weekend, with a fluke electrical problem costing him on the line in moto one. In the second moto, though, he was up front until a fall on the second lap saw him
come through from dead last to 19th.“In the second moto, I got a pretty good start, and I was fourth, and on the second lap I crashed going down a downhill,” Wharton said. “I took a line I shouldn’t have taken, and I thought maybe I would’ve known about that had I raced the first moto. I wasn’t that familiar with the track. So then I had to play catch-up, and I caught up to like 19th from dead last. I got some points, but it was a disappointing weekend for me.”
From here, the AMSOIL sponsored team heads to Washougal, Wash., for round eight of the series at Washougal MX.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
