The unfavourable racing conditions at round ten of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship last weekend spelled disaster for some of the 450 class championship contenders, but also gave way for others to shine.

One of those was American Honda Racing’s Justin Barcia. In only his second race on the factory Honda CRF450R after jumping over from the GEICO Powersports team as an injury fill in, Barcia nabbed his first ever big bore class win.

The young wild man known to many as ‘Bam Bam’ got a great start in the second moto and charged into the lead on the opening lap to take a wire to wire victory. Despite a DNF due to a mechanical failure while running third in the first moto, Barcia’s first win earned him seventh overall for the day.

“I’m so happy right now,” said Barcia.

“I know I ride well on sandier tracks, so I was confident I could do well here at Southwick. Unfortunately, I had some bad luck in the first moto but rebounded in the second to take the win, which I’m really happy about. I got a great start and charged hard the whole time.”

The American Honda team did an awesome job, and I’m thankful for all the support I receive from them and from the GEICO Honda team.”

After proving he has the speed to run up front in the premier class at the previous round at Unadilla, Barcia’s Southwick moto victory was no fluke. Look for him to continue to throw a spanner in the works between the championship contenders as the AMA Pro Motocross Championship runs through its final two rounds,