Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team rider Justin Barcia will sit out the remaining three rounds of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship to spend the time needed to return to full fitness.

Barcia made a valiant comeback from a training crash in late February, but unfortunately, nagging injuries remained. The Supercross season-opening Anaheim 1 winner has yet to return to 100% fitness and after consulting with his doctor and the team, the decision was made to focus on healing those injuries as a priority.

Josh Grant will continue racing the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing #33 YZ450F.

Jim Perry
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“Monster Energy Supercross is a demanding series, racing every weekend. Justin has been battling injuries from the midpoint of the season and needs the time to recover and heal up. Sitting out the final three events is a hard call, however, getting back to 100%, the place he started the season is the number-one goal. It will be a bummer not seeing the #51 YZ450F line up at the gate this weekend, but we will continue moving forward supporting Josh Grant for the final three events.”

Justin Barcia
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing Team
“At this point, it seems that the best thing to do is to let my body recover. I’m just going to keep on training, skip the last few Supercross races and let my body heal up. Thinking about that now, I probably should have done that a few weeks ago because I was injured already but I really wanted to be at the Supercross race with my team and fans and put on a good showing. For right now, I’m going to regroup and be ready for the first Outdoor.”

Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.