Villopoto will also have to compete against Justin Barcia this year. This man needs no introduction. Everyone knows bambam and his style of riding. Straight forward, teammate, doubled, Nemesis ... bambam doesn't care who you are. If he wants to pass you he will do it where he wants and when he wants. Ryan himself hasn't had much to do with the Muscle Milk Honda rider. BamBam was a 450cc rookie last year. Still, he won two supercrosses and despite his rookie mistakes he finished fourth in the championship. And even though Justin will only be 22 in March ... he already has 2 supercross East Coast titles and has tons of experience.
As we already report, Barcia turned 4 last yeare in the final standings for the Supercross World Championship and won two races. As a 450 rookie, that is an achievement to be very proud of. In itself this is not a huge surprise, everyone knows that Barcia is good at supercross. But what do you want when you have learned to supercross against a man like Christophe Pourcel. Still, the switch from 250 to 450 supercross should not be underestimated. Certainly not in a time like now, where there are at least 8 riders at the start who can win. You also have to know your bike inside and out to race supercross. Not that simple when you only have 3 months between the last race of the previous season and the first race of the new season.
The team then; 'That little kid' as Pourcel would say, has been riding a Honda machine all his life. Just as ProCircuit has the team green program in the amateur scene, Honda has also supported Barcia since he was a young chick. The wild child was known for letting his engine suffer and hitting the rev limit again and again. This, in combination with the very low number of DNFs that Barcia has due to a broken engine, makes it appear that Honda has everything in place. In addition to the reliability of the engine, the speed of the Honda is also more than okay. Because unlike in Europe, the Honda teams in America always compete for the marbles in both classes!
If Justin takes the title this year, how will he have done it? My best guess… he simply rammed Villopoto and co out of the stadium! Do we always think this is fair? No, not really. But do we enjoy seeing it? YES!!! So come on bambam and let's enjoy the 2014 supercross season to the fullest!
Tekst: VePix.be