GEICO Honda teammates Barcia, Tomac find Redbud podium

BUCHANAN, Mich. (July 7) – GEICO Honda riders finished a lofty second and third on the 250cc class podium in the Red Bull Redbud National Saturday as action continues in the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Series.

Back-to-back Supercross Lites East champion Justin Barcia finished second overall, while reigning Supercross Lites West champ Eli Tomac battled hard in the second moto to claim the third spot on a day that saw punishing sun and temperatures in the triple digits.

Barcia finished second in both motos to finish second overall to series points leader Blake Baggett, who won both motos.

"I gave it everything I had today," Barcia said. "It didn't work out how we wanted, but it's keeping us in the hunt for the championship. The motos were good. I got good starts today and led a lot of laps.

"I just didn’t have that little notch above that I needed to win today."

Tomac had moto finishes of fifth and third to edge Marvin Musquin for the third overall spot.

"The second moto I felt more like myself," Tomac said. "The first moto I had a little tip over in the corner which caused me to lose the lead pack. Once I did that, they were kind of gone.

"I didn’t have a great start in the second moto. I've been dinking around with some gearing that is good on the track but not on the start, so we need to get that figured out. Then we'll be all good."

Baggett leaves Redbud with a 19-point lead over second-place Barcia and a 36-point margin over third-place Tomac at the season's halfway point.

GEICO Honda's Wil Hahn had a sixth-place overall finish after finishes of sixth and fifth on the afternoon.

"I'm starting to get that consistency I've been looking for all year," Hahn said. "I'm starting to race with the tail end of that lead pack. It feels good to break into the Top 5 again. I need to fix my first couple of laps and match those guys at the beginning when it counts.

"We're halfway through the series and I'm ready to keep my head down and keep making strides forward."

Despite the brutal conditions, all the riders in the GEICO Honda stable seemed fresh following two 30-minute motos in intense heat.

"None of us needed IVs today," Barcia said. "We're just kicking back with some Sno-Cones and relaxing. It was a pretty good day and we gave it our all. We'll just start the second half the season going after more wins."

Up next for GEICO Honda is the Spring Creek National on July 14 in Millville, Minn.