Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing's Justin Barcia's run of late-season form continued in the 2024 AMA Supercross Championship at Philadelphia with a sixth-place result in the 450SX Main Event, while teammate Pierce Brown was denied a shot at the 250SX East podium following a final lap mishap.
Barcia was only a second outside of P1 at the end of Qualifying on his GASGAS MC 450F Factory Edition and stopped the clocks in 10th position, before recording a P3 result in the opening premier class Heat race of Round 15. He was consistent on his way to P6 in the Main Event, withstanding pressure from behind, and maintains ninth in the series points table.
Justin Barcia: "We had a good practice today, qualified P10 and I was quite happy with that because we were within a second of the leader, so that was cool. Heat race, it was good, but nothing spectacular. In the Main Event, I came out top-five on the start and rode really well, then got a little tight in the middle. At the end – or really from the mid-stages of the race – Hunter [Lawrence] was on me and we had a really good battle – it was like the hardest fought sixth-place battle ever! I'm really happy with my ride, even if not so much the result. We're on the up and up, the bike was extremely good today, and I'm looking forward to the last two races in Supercross and onto the outdoors."
250SX East teammate Brown was also on the gas in Philly, despite qualifying in seventh position. He rode his GASGAS MC 250F Factory Edition to fourth in Heat 2 and then factored up front in the Main Event until a crash entering the final lap while positioned in P3 unfortunately saw him drop down the order to a 14th-place finish.
Brown has moved to third place in the eastern regional point standings with just one race remaining in the series, while next week we'll see the return of Ryder DiFrancesco in 250SX West at Denver. Both will be on track in Salt Lake City's 250SX East/West Showdown for the Supercross Finals.
Next Race: May 4 – Denver, Colorado
Results 450SX Class – Philadelphia
1. Jett Lawrence (AUS), Honda
2. Chase Sexton (USA), KTM
3. Jason Anderson (USA), Kawasaki
6. Justin Barcia (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing
8. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Husqvarna
Standings 450SX Class 2024 after 15 of 17 rounds
1. Jett Lawrence, 311 points
2. Cooper Webb, 299
3. Eli Tomac, 270
4. Chase Sexton, 268
7. Aaron Plessinger, 198
9. Justin Barcia, 182
11. Malcolm Stewart, 169
Results 250SX East Class – Philadelphia
1. Max Anstie (GBR), Honda
2. Tom Vialle (FRA), KTM
3. Haiden Deegan (USA), Yamaha
14. Pierce Brown (USA), Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GASGAS Factory Racing
17. Casey Cochran (USA), Husqvarna
Standings 250SX East Class 2024 after 8 of 9 rounds
1. Tom Vialle, 158 points
2. Haiden Deegan, 143
3. Pierce Brown, 124
22. Casey Cochran, 19