Image: Supplied.

Yamaha Racing press release:

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Justin Barcia rallied back from a tough night to finish sixth at the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California. His teammate Aaron Plessinger struggled on the tight, technical track but managed a 12th-place finish at round five of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship.

Barcia got a decent start in his Heat race and quickly moved up into third. In the final moments of the race, a technical issue sidelined the 24-year-old and had the crew working hard to get the bike ready to go for the LCQ. He lined up and got into the lead early to take a dominant win and transfer into the Main Event. Unfortunately, though, an outside gate pick put Barcia at a disadvantage on the start and he found himself mid pack. He put his head down and was quickly able to work his way from 15th to 11th. He then steadily worked his way through the pack, but unfortunately ran out of time and had to settle for sixth. In the end, his efforts did not go to waste and he was able to minimize the points loss in the title chase and hold onto third in the standings, trailing the leader by 15 points.

As for Plessinger, he got a good start in the Heat race in second, but the sophomore Supercross rider struggled and was shuffled back to fourth. In the Main Event, he found himself in a similar spot as his teammate on the start and tucked in behind him in 12th. Trying to work his way forward, the 2018 250SX West Champion lost a couple positions but was able to get back to 12th at the finish.

Next up is Round 6 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship at the Petco Park in San Diego, California on Saturday, February 8.