Corona, Calf. – Justin Barcia delivered his best result at Spring Creek aboard his Ducati
Desmo450 MX to an impressive fifth overall finish. Teammate Dylan Ferrandis added a
consistent seventh-overall result, while Tony Cairoli capped off his three-race stint with
the team by racing inside the top six before an incident in Moto 2 ended his day early.
The day's biggest highlight came in the opening moto, where all three Ducati riders
put themselves in contention early. Justin Barcia ran inside the top three during the
opening laps, while Dylan Ferrandis and Tony Cairoli joined him inside the top 10,
giving Ducati three motorcycles running nose-to-tail among the front-runners.
Barcia enjoyed his strongest outing of the season aboard the Ducati. An excellent start
in Moto 1 saw him emerge third through the opening corner, where he held a podium
position for the opening five laps before settling into fourth. He ultimately crossed the
finish line fifth after an intense battle on the final lap. In Moto 2, Barcia charged from
11th into eighth during the opening laps and fought off pressure throughout the race
to secure another top-10 finish overall in P.8, giving him fifth overall marking his best
overall finish of the season.
"Wild day,” said Barcia. “Starting Friday we made a positive change to the chassis, but
we still had a lot of suspension work to do that we didn't get to during press day, so
we went into first practice today kind of blind. The boys nailed it. The bike was a lot
more comfortable, so we made a lot of progress there. It's been a lot of teamwork. The
Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati team is working hard and nobody is giving up. It
doesn't happen overnight, and it's been a tricky year, but it feels like there's finally
some light at the end of the tunnel. I'm looking forward to next week and seeing how
the bike works up in the trees. All in all, it was a great day."
Ferrandis delivered a pair of consistent rides to secure seventh overall on the day.
After crossing the holeshot line ninth in Moto 1, the Frenchman quickly settled into
seventh before holding off pressure throughout the race to finish seventh. In Moto 2,
Ferrandis battled through an intense fight inside the top 10, climbing from 12th back
to ninth before making one final late-race charge to finish ninth, earning seventh
overall.
"I had a good start in Moto 1 and was trying to stay with the leaders, but I was lacking
a little bit of pace today,” said Ferrandis. “It took me a while to get around Cooper
Webb, but once I did I was able to close the gap to my teammate. In Moto 2, the start
was okay, but I struggled with pace and intensity in the opening laps and lost a couple
of positions before working my way back. That's the best I could do today. We still
have work to do and room to improve. Next weekend may be tough, but I'm looking
forward to the break afterward so we can make another big step."
Nine-time MXGP World Champion Tony Cairoli continued to demonstrate both speed
and valuable development progress aboard the Desmo450 MX. Cairoli started near
the front in Moto 1 and fought into fourth during the opening lap before being forced
off the track by another rider in the S-turns near the base of Martin Mountain. Despite
losing momentum, the Italian regrouped to finish sixth. Moto 2 proved more difficult
after a poor start left him deep in the field. While charging through the pack, Cairoli
suffered a crash on lap five when another rider collided with his leg, forcing him to
retire from the race as a precaution. He finished 13th overall.
"Today was another tough day, but we completely changed the bike in a lot of areas
compared to last weekend. From the first practice this morning I wanted to see if we
could change direction and improve, and we definitely did. In the first moto I really
enjoyed riding, but unfortunately, I got pushed off the track on the first lap, lost some
positions, and had to work hard to recover. I feel like fourth or fifth was possible, but
sixth was still a strong result. In the second moto I didn't get a great start, tucked the
front while trying to make passes, and another rider hit my leg and twisted my knee. I
decided to stop because I didn't want to risk making the injury worse. We've had three
good races, and I wanted to head home healthy."
The weekend represented a significant milestone for the program as the team
continued learning and refining the Ducati Desmo450 MX under the demanding
conditions of American Pro Motocross. Extensive chassis and suspension changes
made throughout practice provided each rider with increased confidence and
comfort, resulting in the team's most competitive performance to date.
Photo Credit: Align Media
