Barcia, legit title threat?

in 2017, what % of people would have guessed Anderson and Webb to win the next 2 championships.

He's got the red plate. He's a contender.

last year he won the first and not one more.....its too early to tell if he is a legit threat for the title, do the poll again after 10 rounds

If he can stay healthy, he’s a contender. He hasn’t put together a full season without injury in years.

Let’s see where everyone stands after Daytona.

Too early for that kind of squakin.

AC was fastest all weekend. The fact that Barcia kept him in sight after the pass so he was able to pass back when AC bobbled was very impressive. I hope he’s able to hang with the top tier throughout the season. I wasn’t a fan of 250s Bam Bam, but thoroughly enjoy the more mature Justin that age and, from his own admission, his wife have brought about.

Barcia has always had the talent to win and be a champion indoors or out. He just has such a hell bent, full throttle style that it's been hard to dial his bike to work right with how he rides. The times that teams have done that, the problem became keeping him injury free.
Justin Barcia can show up and whoop everybody's ass on any given day if he's fit, healthy, and loving the shit out of his bike. He's proven that. That Justin Barcia still exists and we saw it at A1. It wasn't a mudder. He was just hauling that much ass. If he stays healthy we will see him battling for wins. He'll be so-so on some tracks and a beast on some tracks. He will be a threat at any given race, but staying off the ground, injury free, and consistent enough....I'd have to say no. It would be cool to see though.

2.7% How is he not the favorite? He’s won all the races this year...

After winning this non-mud race, I say yes he is a title contender.

I mean technically yeah he is a threat for the title but how much of a threat? Too early to tell.

If he goes out at St. Louis and podiums or even wins again we’ll talk

Undefeated this decade.

With less Lyme his odds get better imo

Its his title to lose ...

This.

If he stays healthy, I expect solid top 5 all season, couple more wins maybe.

He won’t win the championship. Everyone knows his chances are slim. Just like if bagget wins next week it’ll probably be his only one. Field is too stacked. Webb and Tomac will take the majority, with a few others scattered in. But Barcia winning the C? No

No I’m not 5 years old, I’m 6 years old. What I said is true, he has won every race this year, I have no reason to believe he won’t win all of them.

He is still too much of a hothead on the track. During the course of the season he will inevitably get pissed off and punt someone. Title contenders NEVER do that except for the last race. Why? Because you have so much to lose. You can not afford to be owed a payback when you are in the running for a title.

Also, when was the last time he put in a full 17 races?

2019 - 12 races
2018 - 10 races
2017 - 11 races
2016 - 8 races
2015 - 9 races
2014 - 15 races
2013 - 17 races

The only time he even made all 17 races was 2013...when he was a rookie and there was really not as much pressure on him to perform. I don't see him being a consistent enough rider to be a legitimate championship contender. He is just too aggro and not in control of himself.

Actually, I was impressed with AC, he is also a strong title contender....

Barcia is a Baggett. Good rider and will pop up on occasion and win one when healthy. Not a title threat. Just not.

Im not a Cooper Webb fan at all but I think he's still the one to beat. Cooper, AC, Tomac will fight for the Champ.

FFS just wait a couple weeks!

The track was soft and gnarly which is rare for A1. I think that he will be a top 5 rider and contend for more podiums and wins but i still want to see how he gets the new Yamaha to work on a firm and slippery track before i put him as a legit title threat. And as someone already pointed out, he has only once managed to finish all 17 rounds in his career.

But i really hope he can do this all season long! He is entertaining to watch and he has a cool story going from everything to nothing and crawling his way up from the risk of retirement after the time at JGR.

Probably also worth saying no matter if the bike is better or not, it's still a 450, and he's had a helluva time staying off the ground and healthy since he moved up.

Could be bad luck or maybe wild riding puts you on the ground more, regardless of the bike

Not sure about that yet, but he did ride a great race, including that heat win. And it was not muddy this time.
He's definitely more of a contender than I thought he would be pre-A1. And maybe AC too, if he can eliminate dumb mistakes like trying a triple no one is doing when he is already leading and going faster than anyone else. Hopefully we'll have 5ish guys in the hunt after Daytona

I’ll say yes. He is legit and has a good chance to contend. The post race press conference helped me with this opinion. His attitude and confidence have changed. He is fit and not injured this year and has sorted out some problems he was having with the bike and the team. He has all the right stuff it appears. A repeat strong ride in St. Louis will help.

I’ve never liked Justin for his on track bull shit in the past, he seemed to lose focus and do stupid things. I hope it is behind him and he can be in the mix, better racing for all.

Isn't this at least the third or fourth time some have referred to JB51 as the "new and improved Justin Barcia"?

One thing for sure...he freaking rules A1! I'll say his demeanor and communicative skills have improved in the interviews he did...and aside from almost clipping AC9 when he entered the track again after jumping off of it...there was no reflection of his BamBam days. Not bad.

We'll see...

Barcia has never looked that good on a SX track.
He was on par with the fastest guy of the night (AC)
Maybe all his training over the winter working on the bike is paying off.

Also, his riding style looked a bit different than normal. He looked more hunched over kinda like how RV rode. (ass back head forward)

Would be awesome to see him win the title.

Barcia looked great. It's an age old saying, but he literally looked comfortable and confident. I mean, he stayed in it after he made and error, caught and passed AC after he also slipped up and just rode away for the relatively easy win. One problem though...it's Barcia. He usually cracks like 1/2" ice on a warm day.

I'll just say one more thing...that pass he made on Friese by leaping over those two tuff blocks leading into that left hander was epic! Not many riders would have had the nuts to do that!