Tough Night For Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team At Seattle

24-03-2019

Tough Night For Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team At Seattle

Round 12 of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington, was a tough event for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Supercross Team. Justin Barcia finished 17th in the 450SX main event, while his fill-in teammate Josh Grant missed out on lining up for the main after crashing out unhurt in the last chance qualifier (LCQ).

After a run in with a tough block and a tip over in his heat race, Barcia still managed to finish eighth and qualify for the Main event. Unfortunately the main event didn’t go much better with a less than ideal gate pick for the star who continues to recover from a shoulder injury. He was 13th after the first turn and then had a crash that set him back further. Barcia remounted, but was unable to make progress through the field and crossed the line 17th.

Grant, who is filling in for the injured Aaron Plessinger, was also held back by a pair of crashes. A crash in his heat had him barely missing the transfer spot in 10th-place. That put Grant in the LCQ with one more shot to make the main, but another crash ultimately ended his night.

Barcia, Grant, and their Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team will regroup and head to Houston, Texas, where they will race Saturday, March 30, at NRG Field.

Jim Perry

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager

It was a disappointing night for the boys in blue. Justin Barcia struggled throughout the day. He came into the event a little behind the eight ball dealing with a nagging shoulder injury. The track was really challenging; very slippery, very hard based and the whoops section was the toughest all year. So that really hampered his ability to challenge for a podium finish.

Josh Grant, filling in for the injured Aaron Plessinger, just needs some more time on the bike. He came into Seattle, his first race with the team, looking for a solid night, but again the track was really tough tonight getting the best of Josh. Both riders will regroup come back to Houston for the final Triple Crown event of the year next weekend and put Seattle in the rear-view mirror.

Justin Barcia

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing

It was a difficult day for me. I wasn’t able to ride during the week due to my shoulder, so I was a bit rusty. It was also an extremely difficult track. I had a rough start and got caught on a tough block, then I crashed in my heat race which set me back. Then in the main I had a pretty hard crash in the beginning of the race… It was definitely a weekend to forget and move on from.

Josh Grant

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing

The bike was great all day. The track conditions were difficult to adjust to though, and there were some really slick spots and we struggled in the whoop section. I’m going to head home, work on a few things and come back to Houston with a little more riding under my belt. Everybody has bad days and looking at that main event, mine still went better than most.