Justin Barcia

There is a short list of riders in AMA Supercross history who have won the season opener in Anaheim — the most watched, most pressurized single race of the season — three times in a row. Justin Barcia is the only one. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, he won A1 with the kind of gate-to-checkers performances that define legacies. No rider before him had done it consecutively. No rider has done it since. BamBam owns that piece of history, and no one can take it.

Born on March 25, 1992, in Monroe, New York, Barcia has raced with an unmistakable style — wide open, physical, and brilliant — across five manufacturers in a career that spans fifteen professional seasons. Honda. Yamaha. GasGas. And now, for 2026, Ducati. When Troy Lee Designs and Ducati Corse Off-Road announced the new factory program, Barcia was the lead rider — chosen specifically because his fearlessness and decades of experience were exactly what a first-year motorcycle program would need.

The Ducati Chapter

The 2026 season marks the first time Ducati has ever competed in AMA Supercross. The Desmo450 MX — developed initially for MXGP with Antonio Cairoli — is now a supercross-spec machine, and Barcia has been its primary development rider. The process of bringing a new motorcycle to the gate in Anaheim is one of the sport's most challenging undertakings, and a back fracture sustained in Round 5 cut his season short. But when BamBam returns, the Ducati development continues — and the sport's most persistent closer will be closing again.