by Aaron Hansel
The Moment: Anaheim 2
Monday, January 21, 2013 | 2:45 PM
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Racing is a funny thing. Whether you’re a pro or a C Class weekend warrior, you’ve no doubt ridden the undulating wave of racing that delivers extraordinary success in one week, and bizarre catastrophe the next. If your name is Justin Barcia, this pattern could not have been illustrated any more clearly than it was in the past two races.
We all know what happened at Phoenix. Barcia straight disappeared and laid waste to what is probably the most competitive field of 450SX racers in history. In short, it was jaw-dropping, and Barcia’s composure, both during the race and after, made him look like a seasoned veteran who had been winning premier class races for years, not a rookie with less than three 450SX races under his belt.
Barcia’s accomplishment was stunning. Not because he won a race, that was expected to happen sooner or later, but because he did it so quickly. The speed and perceived ease in which he got that first win triggered thoughts of 1993, when another Factory Honda rookie started winning. Would Barcia follow in Jeremy McGrath’s footsteps and start reeling off victories?
Barcia (front) suffered a DNF in Anaheim after blood flowed through his goggles after casing a triple in the main event.
Simon Cudby photo
That question was answered early, and abruptly, in the main when Barcia’s shot at two in a row was vaporized like a drop of water on a hot exhaust pipe after he badly cased a triple and cracked his face on the handlebars. Barcia, who withdrew from the race almost immediately after, must’ve been in excruciating pain, but the real reason he pulled off was because blood was flowing into his goggles, blocking his vision. In a fraction of a second, Barcia went from the previous week’s winner to the current week’s first DNF of the night.
Unfortunately, that’s just the way racing goes sometimes. One moment you’re on top of the podium surrounded by Monster girls as you pop champagne, and the next you’re blinking feverishly and pawing at your face in an attempt to see through streams of your own blood. After the race, Barcia tweeted the following comment: “Maybe broken nose some stitches in the eye and some glue on the nose I will be all good thanks everyone!”
What will be delivered when racing’s next wave hits Barcia?
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Man! the slow-mo of that looked like he hit the bar pad right in the google area. That was one heck of a smack.
@Aaron; Nice article. I have been waiting for some kind of diagnosis on Barcia. I am guessing the goggles took the brunt of the impact, and they can only withstand so much force. Just be damn glad they are as energy absorbing as they are.
My face has been in way too many impact issues in my day, and I am empathetic to his most recent demise. Hope his tweet was accurate.
Thanks for sharing this news...
I expect the government will mandate airbags on crossbars.
No wonder his pulling off was a delayed reaction. Damn blood ruining a good finish. As they said in the 80's: "that's a bummer man".
Before seeing the crash, I thought he maybe should have kept going, but I can understand now why he didn't. It sounds like he can race next week for sure, which is good. If he went out there with vision issues, crashed, and got hurt, his championship hopes would have been done.
He was damn lucky. That was as nasty a case job as I have ever seen. I wasnt sure if he bit his tongue off, lost teeth, or even cracked his neck. He is extremely fortunate. Best of luck in the future.
Be careful in Oakland Justin, now that he knows you have a weakness, Josh Grant may try to hit you in the face with his bike!
323mx wrote:
What is up Feld? Milking the riderts for all it's worth!!!
Just taking a leaf out of Longuo's book, it seems. I would like to warn the American riders before it's too late. If you allow this crap to get a hold, it's gonna get far worse. Stand up and be counted, NOW.
That looked pretty rough at least his face absorbed most of the crash and his wrists and knees are good. Here comes the villipoto show I bet he wins the next three.
Barcia has not been chanlenged yet this year. I can't wait to see him and RV or CR or a healthy JS hook up for a battle.
@EuroMike--spot on, Luongo has raped the GP riders for years.. And Feld seems to be taking a page from his book..
@BillC, Barcia said he heard RV coming in a heat race, and said he started to tighten up, so if its a 20 lap main, he just might choke a little.. He is kinda a supercross specialist, it just might be his calling though, like Mcgrath.. In a year or two he might be unstoppable..
@Bubba1, LOL at Josh Grant.
The parking fees, which were extended to team members, media and industry folk as well, aren't collected by Feld. The decision came from somewhere in Angel Stadium management.
@323mx...Don't worry I'm sure your money is going into development of replacing tuff blocks. Feld and the FIM are turning SX into a monster truck show. I watch the races and see the first few rows of seats empty and think they want to protect the fans, wrong. The fans can sue if Feld fails to protect them. I bet the riders have to sign something that says they can't sue. I really am worried that SX will be all year and riders and teams will have to chose. Look at how condensed the MX season already is because of SX and MEC, now. I wonder who will win the freestyle part of the season?
I sure hope that is Barcias worst injury ! sure would like to see him stay healthy and fast. No matter what they say, his Pheonix ride was a pale shadow to what we saw at A2. Lets see if he can start 7th and be in first by lap 6.
323, who'd you talk to? We were told it was an Angel Stadium thing. Pretty sure Feld doesn't get any of that parking money, so it doesn't make a lot of sense that they would be the ones who decided to extend the fees. Not that it's a huge deal, but I guess we'll know this weekend if parking fees are charged in Oakland.
@Aaorn if that is the case, then it may be time for a change and not have 3 freaking Anaheim races.. It seems if its not Feld lining thier pockets more, then its the Landlords of the Stadium, and take the races somewhere else and see if they like not getting the races at all...
Give Pontiac thier race back, or better yet, how about taking one to Syracuse, then making one of the Texas races a west coast race, and of course the Syracuse one an East coaster...The folks at Amahein are now just taking advantage of everyone.. And can anyone tell me why have 3 races at one facility anyway.. I really cant understand it..
Who knows why the decision to have 3 races at Anahiem, but you can bet they lost their buts on A2. I was there and couldn't believe how many empty seats there were. I was also at A1 and saw a huge difference in attendence between A1 and A2. I am sure from a marketing point of view it might have looked like a win win situation.
therealmofo true, I was wishing there was 1 more lap in the heat race just to see what would happen. RV made up like 8sec on Barcia in about 4/5 laps.
@ bd200
What are you talkin about ! That hunk of junk would never make it from the queen crap city to Pontiac let alone all the way to Syracuse !
BD200 there was only going to be 2 this year but Saturday's race was moved because Dodgers stadum was not ready. But I agree 1 is enough. get one to the east somehow!!
@Sloan- way to funny! Sorry bd200, I had to laugh at that one.
If I recall the turn out at the last Pontiac was poor.
@BillC, Pontiac had great turnouts, when they moved the race to Detroit is when nobody showed up.. But I like the Syracuse option better..
@Sloan, what the heck ar you talking about?? maybe you can explain it to me Bill since it made you laugh.. This Sloan guy talks all kinds of weird crap all the time and I havent a clue what he means, not sure if he does either..
lmao hes talking about the smashed in s-10 thats in your avatar pic haha
I also asked and parking fees were set by and collected by feld. Btw grant is a dick.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh yes it was Detroit. I am hittin Toronto again this year for my Live SX fix. I just hope they all make it there in one piece.
I cannot believe that that impact to the face did not knock him out cold.
Why so many Anaheim Races? 1. Attendance vs. cost.. Feld puts the dirt in once, then runs A1, Monster Truck, A2 and now A3. Then pay for new Sod once. This also saves on travel, etc.
What a horrible write up!!! Seriously, let Matthes or Weege do the writing from now on.
Kid wins one race and Aaron thinks JB is just going to dominate the sport huh? Jesus
Hey Aaron, wait until Justin has as many championships or wins as a guy like RV,JS,RD, or CR before you write something like this again.
@ persona
You have a legit point about what the "writer" attempted to include about Barcia.
Although you are going to upset one JB fanatic who apparently has a crush on him.
He's tough but it still looked like it hurt!
Anyone with a HDTV notice that CBS cut half the signal even though
they are using SpeedTV feeds? So they blow up the image on the
HD channel pretending it's HD but all we got was a standard image
blown up with half the viewing area. They really must not like our sport
very much.
@ bd200
Hey man eat some of that 5 way cincy chilli grab a copy of the latest issue of Racer X and head to the pot.. Think man !! Think !
That truck photo you have with the tow in problem..Your delma is as such if you leave around 7 am you may make it to Pontiac around night fall. I also anticipated that you have no running lights maybe a cracked radiator , maybe a broken motor mount >>> More like 8 pm If at all !! I'm givin you a lot of props figuring you have a mechanical apptitude since your a Racer X poster ..... "That maybe a stretch. "
I figure on I 75 you may top out at 35 max 400 MILES away before the wheel is jerked from your Greezzy paws. You also said you had a dirt bike !! GOOD Luck ! Rosco on that one...............You would seize the bike within 2 hours !! Syracuse ! No dice stay home and play with the dog !!! LOL !!
Have another bowl of that famous 5 way chilli !
Hey if you people can read, its about the moment that changed the main... Nothing more nothing less. You keyboard fools talk so much sh!t about everything that you forget how very lucky we are to watch races live or next day coverage. All of you need to grow up or show up and let your riding do the talking.
Bauer161
Go away and start your own fight!! LOL ! People like you that but in get fat lip and bloody nose !
@sloan--that Blazer in my pic wasnt mineLOL it was my sons and while mechaniclly it was alright, it wasnt very tough.. Weak sheetmetal... If I went there I would drive the Jeep, way better vehicle.. And 400 miles?? 5 1/2 hours max dude, easy!! LOL!! Not much for the 5-ways, 4-ways all the way, no beans...
@Bauer161..
Amen Brother,, well said you must be a vet from the old days too...
Alpinstars Need to make BIG BOY PANTS!!!!
Bams face blaster was not awesome. hope hes back next week and back in the mix.......
Whats with California ? can't even fill your stadiums for Supercross and attendace at the Lake Elsinore National was weak also. We drove 6 hours from Phoenix for it.
WTF is up with the parking fees, FELDBERGMANSTEINERMAN? Getting greedy. Leave the riders alone! They are the ones putting their butts on the line to line your pockets.
Anyone notice that was the SECOND time Barcia cased that sob. 1st time i squirmed a lil bit, second time I thought he musta bit his toungue off, or busted a vert, and leaped out the chair like i did when Reed went airborne at millville. At least he's not 2/3 of a inch shorter, gl Justin, gotta clear those potlickers.
The owner of the Wahington Redskins (Dan Snyder) is planning on a new Dome Stadium. Once this is done SX needs to return to the Nations Capital. I myself was shocked to see all those empty seats last week. The closes SX race is Atlanta which we attend every year, NO empty seats there!
Thank You Andy440--finally somebody mentions the attendance at Anaheim.. Sounds like they didnt sell out again.. Thats sad considering the place sells out at around 43,000.. They have over 60,000 in Indy every year, at least over 55,000.. So they think they need 3 of these every year, what a joke.. With almost 13 million (probably more) people in the Great L.A. area and cant get 40,000 to go to a supercross race?? And that is supposed to be the home of motocross in the US???
I sure wish they'd go back to either the Coliseum, or the Rose Bowl. I loved the track at the coliseum, with the peristyle jumps. Bad Ass
For A1 I came in with Casey Currie, Monster Energy sponsored driver of the LOORS Pro-Lite, we were bringing in his two seater for display at the Monster Energy Pit party. The guys at the gate were giving Casey such a hard time about coming in, this was just to get into the parking lot! Seriously how many people show up with a friggin Pro-lite to a Supercross race??
Best quote of the week: "RV gobbled up that gap between him and Canard like a fat kid eating cake". :)
I've cased a triple the same way and also smacked my goggles into the crossbar. In my case, the jolt knocked all the tears out of my eyes and inside the goggles - which made my vision blurry enough. Then the blood finishes it off (also busted my nose up). You just can't wear goggles after that. And it felt like a full on punch to the nose. His neck is going to be REALLY sore for a few days too.