Justin Barcia confirms he’s likely to leave Yamaha – heading to GasGas?

Justin Barcia has confirmed in a recent press conference that this is likely to be his last season with the Factory Yamaha team in America. The American actually had his best Supercross season with Yamaha as he finished fifth in the series this year. However, it’s looking like he’ll be on the move for the 2021 season.

“This is probably our last shot of it. This is probably my last year at Yamaha so I am going for it as far as I can to try and get them the best results as well as the best result for myself. I’m definitely having a really good time with the team and enjoy them, we put in so much work and we’ve showed glimpses of what we can do, it’s exciting”, Barcia stated. 

Despite knowing he’s probably parting ways with the team, Barcia says there’s still a good vibe in the team and they’re determined to end on a high during the AMA Nationals.

“To be honest with you, it hasn’t been tense at all. There’s no hard feelings for me or the team, I’ve been out here and I’m putting in the work. This is what we do and we all want to win and we want to do the best we can so we are definitely giving it our all. We’ve had a lot of fun so far, it’s not exactly what we want but we are still in the fight. We need to win races, the speed is there so we just need to put everything together now”, concluded Barcia. 

There’s rumours that Barcia could be heading to GasGas in the the 2021 season as the manufacture plan to be present in the AMA paddock from next season onwards with potientially the Troy-Lee Designs KTM team making the switch but it’s all still to be confirmed. Steve Matthes, the man in the know for AMA news has stated he’s heard Barcia will be heading to GasGas.

Barcia really gonna gas-gas it in 2021

— Steve Matthes (@pulpmx) August 25, 2020

With regards Yamaha in the AMA scene, things haven’t been going according to plan for them in the 450cc class in recent years with Webb leaving and having good results on the KTM, it’ll be interesting to see what direction they take and who they end up signing to replace Barcia. There’s also rumours about Aaron Plessinger’s future but as he’s under contract he could stay. The good news is that Dylan Ferrandis is expected to stay with Yamaha but under the Star Racing awning with a factory bike but it’s all still to be confirmed.

Pic: Yamaha Racing