The Monster Energy / Yamaha team started 2019 off on a very high note with Justin Barcia winning the opening round in Anaheim and their 450SX rookie, Aaron Plessinger, finishing 6th, but that is really where the good times ended for the boys in blue.
Justin followed up his win with a decent 6th at round two, but at round three a big crash in a rhythm section took the train completely off the rails for the #51. Justin tried to keep his season alive by riding through the pain, but he has not seen the top five since the opener and a concussion sustained in a practice crash after Detroit forced him to miss a couple of races.
After Plessinger 6th at the opener, he basically hovered around the top ten—minus a 19th in Oakland—for a while, but a solid 5th in Atlanta gave everyone hope that he was starting to find his groove on the 450. Unfortunately, one weekend later in Daytona, the #7 was forced to eject in the middle of a rhythm section and his rookie season has now come to a close.
This weekend in Indy, Barcia will return after missing Atlanta and Daytona while AP begins his recovery after having surgery on his broken heel. You can check out Yamaha’s press release announcing Justin’s return and an update on AP’s inhury below.
Yamaha Press Release
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia will be back in action this weekend March 16th at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, round 11 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.
Barcia has successfully completed the concussion protocol and is now cleared to Race. The Anaheim One winner was back on his YZ450F and riding this week, feeling good and has given the team the thumbs up to return to action.
Teammate Aaron Plessinger begins his road to recovery after last week’s crash at the Daytona Supercross. The rookie suffered a broken right heel in the main event. Dr. Wang performed surgery on Plessinger’s heel yesterday at the Keck Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. At this early stage, Plessinger and the team await more information on his recovery and return date.
Jim Perry – “Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager: “The last couple of weeks have been tough for the team and athletes. We are looking forward to Justin’s number 51 YZ450F returning to action this weekend at round 11 of the Monster Energy Supercross in Indy while wishing Aaron a speedy recovery.”
Justin Barcia – “Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing: “It’s nice to be back on the bike. I haven’t been able to ride too much, but I feel like I’ll be competitive no matter what. It’s definitely a bummer that my teammate won’t be around. I’m ready to get back to the races and hold the fort down while AP’s healing up. It’s definitely good to be back. I’m looking forward to seeing all the guys on the team and getting back to the podium. That’s where we want to be. My expectations for the weekend obviously are just to have fun. I’m not really putting any pressure on myself. I just want to go out there and race.”
