With the WMA on hiatus until Washougal, the GEICO Powersports/AMSOIL/Honda squad rolled into Red Bud with three strong 250cc contenders, and they mixed it up at the front of the pack all day long.
Aussie Brett Metcalfe is getting stronger every round, and after the Colorado event, he said he was really looking forward to challenging for the win. At RedBud,
he got that opportunity. In the first moto, he ran third early and was challenging the leaders, but arm-pump set in, and he began to fall back, eventually getting passed on the last lap by his teammate Justin Barcia, and finished fourth.
In moto two, "Metty" made some changes to his bike to try and fix his arm-pump, and it helped him maintain a fast pace for the whole moto.
“For the second moto, we changed my bike setup quite a bit, and as soon as I got out there, it felt really good,” Metcalfe said. “I got a good start and worked my way up into third, and that was it. I kept charging the whole moto and felt really strong the whole moto, and I was slowly creeping up on Searle for second, but I couldn’t bridge the gap fast enough. I went 4-3, and it was a good day, but I still think I can do better, and I want to do better.”
With the final results, the difference between first and fourth, where Metcalfe finished overall, was just the spot he lost in moto one. Had Metcalfe finished third in moto one, he would’ve won the overall.
“That’s how crazy that was,” Metcalfe said.
His teammate Justin Barcia came from way back in the first moto to challenge Metcalfe for third, eventually passing him on the last lap over LaRocco’s Leap.
“You know, it was a mess in the first turn, and I got bumped around a little bit, and my thumb got
smashed... I thought I broke it,” Barcia said. “But I just forgot about everything and tried to ride my butt off. But I came through the pack really hard in the first moto and made a last-lap pass on my teammate Brett Metcalfe over LaRocco’s Leap. I wanted to get on the podium, and it was the last lap, and I was pushing really hard the whole moto until I finally got up to the position where I was on the podium. I was excited about that.”
Unfortunately, moto two’s start was even worse for Barcia.
“I got two bad starts this weekend,” Barcia said. “I just had bad starts. I was off my game a little bit off the start. I really wanted to get on the podium in both motos, but I got the worst start ever. I was probably last, and there were a few fast guys up front who checked out. I got up to a position at the end of the moto where there was no one around me. I kept pushing, but the guys in front had a good pace and I couldn’t do any better than seventh in that moto.”
Barcia ended up sixth overall in the competitive 250 class.
And finally, Blake Wharton was fast all day at RedBud, but ran into some problems, starting with getting tangled up in the first-turn mess that Barcia narrowly avoided. As Wharton worked his way forward, he fell in a turn and was unable to start his bike, and that was the moto for him. But in moto two, things were a lot better. He started somewhat poorly, but caught up to seventh before a couple falls cost him.
From here, the AMSOIL sponsored team has a weekend off before heading to Millville, Minn., for round seven of the series at Spring Creek MX.
Aussie Brett Metcalfe is getting stronger every round, and after the Colorado event, he said he was really looking forward to challenging for the win. At RedBud,
he got that opportunity. In the first moto, he ran third early and was challenging the leaders, but arm-pump set in, and he began to fall back, eventually getting passed on the last lap by his teammate Justin Barcia, and finished fourth.In moto two, "Metty" made some changes to his bike to try and fix his arm-pump, and it helped him maintain a fast pace for the whole moto.
“For the second moto, we changed my bike setup quite a bit, and as soon as I got out there, it felt really good,” Metcalfe said. “I got a good start and worked my way up into third, and that was it. I kept charging the whole moto and felt really strong the whole moto, and I was slowly creeping up on Searle for second, but I couldn’t bridge the gap fast enough. I went 4-3, and it was a good day, but I still think I can do better, and I want to do better.”
With the final results, the difference between first and fourth, where Metcalfe finished overall, was just the spot he lost in moto one. Had Metcalfe finished third in moto one, he would’ve won the overall.
“That’s how crazy that was,” Metcalfe said.
His teammate Justin Barcia came from way back in the first moto to challenge Metcalfe for third, eventually passing him on the last lap over LaRocco’s Leap.
“You know, it was a mess in the first turn, and I got bumped around a little bit, and my thumb got
smashed... I thought I broke it,” Barcia said. “But I just forgot about everything and tried to ride my butt off. But I came through the pack really hard in the first moto and made a last-lap pass on my teammate Brett Metcalfe over LaRocco’s Leap. I wanted to get on the podium, and it was the last lap, and I was pushing really hard the whole moto until I finally got up to the position where I was on the podium. I was excited about that.”Unfortunately, moto two’s start was even worse for Barcia.
“I got two bad starts this weekend,” Barcia said. “I just had bad starts. I was off my game a little bit off the start. I really wanted to get on the podium in both motos, but I got the worst start ever. I was probably last, and there were a few fast guys up front who checked out. I got up to a position at the end of the moto where there was no one around me. I kept pushing, but the guys in front had a good pace and I couldn’t do any better than seventh in that moto.”
Barcia ended up sixth overall in the competitive 250 class.
And finally, Blake Wharton was fast all day at RedBud, but ran into some problems, starting with getting tangled up in the first-turn mess that Barcia narrowly avoided. As Wharton worked his way forward, he fell in a turn and was unable to start his bike, and that was the moto for him. But in moto two, things were a lot better. He started somewhat poorly, but caught up to seventh before a couple falls cost him.From here, the AMSOIL sponsored team has a weekend off before heading to Millville, Minn., for round seven of the series at Spring Creek MX.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
