Image: Octopi Media.

Monster Energy Yamaha rider Justin Barcia managed to salvage fourth in Tampa after recovering from a poor start and slicing his way through the 450SX field on Saturday night.

The Anaheim 1 winner crashed heavily in qualifying during the afternoon, but he ultimately managed to finish inside the top five at the conclusion of the main event.

Barcia – using a special livery in support of the St. Jude theme – was hampered by ending the opening lap in 14th position, before going on a charge from there and making his way to fourth by race’s end. It was a gritty effort for the 27-year-old.

“I had a pretty scary crash in practice, so it was good to walk away from that,” said Barcia. “My hand just slipped off the ‘bar over the triple and I went flying.

“This track was a difficult track and I wasn’t expecting it to be so hard-packed. We made some good changes going into the night, but I got another one of those bad starts in the main. I was able to charge through the pack and got fourth place.

“My bike was working well on the track, it was awesome. It was hard to pass out there, but I was able to make it work so, all in all, I gained some confidence going through the pack like that.”

Barcia dropped one position in the premier class standings following round seven, now ranked fourth as the Monster Energy Supercross series travels to Arlington, Texas, this weekend.